Naruto: Shimei
by Soul Raider 116
Summary: During a time of violent ambushes by mysterious ninja, Naruto's adopted son is searching for his true identity. Along the way, he might just save the day! This story is being revamped. Please read/alert "Naruto: Shimei" -version 2.0-
1. Authors notes

**Title**: "Naruto: Shimei"  
**Title Translation**: "Naruto: Identity"  
**Genre**: Next Generation  
**Plot**: During a time of violent ambushes by mysterious ninja, Naruto's adopted son is searching for his true identity. Along the way, he might just save the day!

**Pairings from the original**: Please don't post saying "How can you pair those people up together!" It's my preference...it's alright if you don't want to read the story because of the pairings, but don't flame me for it!  
ShikaTema  
KibaHina  
NejiTen  
SasuSaku (I'm holding out for that baka to return by the end of the series!)  
InoSai

GaaMatsu

**Original characters with no designated Spouse, but children**:  
Shino  
Chouji

**Note**: Naruto is unmarried, and adopted a child he found during a mission.

**Main Characters (not including "spoiler characters" wink **  
Uzumaki Yuudai  
Uchiha Taro  
Uchiha Akina  
Uchiha Yasuo  
Nara Shikaji  
Nara Mine  
Inuzuka Takara  
Inuzuka Kiyoshi  
Hyuuga Utoi  
Hyuuga Sumi  
Hyuuga Kagami  
Aburame Shizu  
Akimichi Chouko  
Yamanaka Inoko

_The following are entirely original characters unrelated to any Naruto characters_:  
Aiyoku Miki  
Aiyoku Ima

**Character sketches for some of the cast can be found at my dA account.**

_Fanart/fiction of the story and the original characters belonging to me (the children and such) are allowed, but I want to see them, so please give me a link!_


	2. Episode 1: Introducing, Uzumaki Yuudai!

Episode 1: Introducing, Uzumaki Yuudai!

_Cold rain saturated the darkness; the howling of the wind dominated the hearing of any who dared to venture into the bitter night. A small child sat huddled in the hollow of a rotting tree, his tears mixing with the rain that dripped from his matted hair. It was mere luck that a passing soul caught the child's cries amidst the roar of the wind and the pounding of the rain; luck that the young man chose to investigate the muffled sound; luck that through vision blurred by tears the child found himself gazing into kind blue eyes, that the child was swept into the stranger's strong arms and borne away from that frightful place…_

_**BWEE, BWEE, BWEE!**_

A strong, tanned arm slid from beneath the covers, a soft groan accompanying the gesture. After a few moments of blind searching, the fingers found the button which would silence the alarm. The arm once more vanished among the bedding. The huddled mass began to writhe as the person hidden within attempted to stir himself awake. Blankets pulled back, revealing first a head of unruly green hair, followed by a bleary golden stare that remained, unfocused, aimed toward the ceiling. The sheets continued to retreat along the tired figure, exposing his pierced ears, his downturned mouth, his strong neck and shoulders. With a great stretch and a gaping yawn the boy forced himself into a sitting position. His gaze took in the clock in its peripheral, and the golden eyes suddenly grew wide and alert. Turning to face the clock fully he double checked the time, and found he had been correct when he first read it.

"Damn!" The green-haired youth cursed as he threw off his covers, "Damn! I'm gonna be late!"

The boy practically leapt from his bed, covering the distance between where he had slept and his bathroom with speed only one with ninja training could muster. He snatched up his toothbrush, coating the bristles with paste, and spent a few moments frantically scrubbing his teeth. After spitting the minty froth into the sink he ran a brush through his moss coloured locks a couple of times, not that it made much difference, before racing back to his bedroom. Picking up the crumpled black shirt and navy pants he had cast aside after wearing them the previous day, he once more dressed in the garments. Around his neck he fastened a thick golden necklace, bangles of the same gold slid onto his wrists. The final touch was the forehead protector, leaf insignia engraved in it, that he bound across his brow. The task of dressing complete, he launched himself down the stairs towards the door.

"Hey!" A voice sounded as he passed the kitchen. The source was soon revealed as a blonde man with a bright blue gaze and strange whisker markings poked his head into the hall, "Aren't you gonna eat?"

"No time!" Came the hurried reply, "After training!"

"Yuudai!" The voice of the blonde man took on a stern tone, but it was for not. The youth had already dashed out of the house. A smile over took the adult's features as he shook his head, bemused. Yuudai reminded him so much of himself, strong and determined; and yet they were so different. He had been 'Konoha's number one knucklehead ninja,' but his son was harsh, and bitter. As many times as Naruto had assured the boy that they were a family, it never seemed to put Yuudai's mind at ease.

Yuudai sped through the village, avoiding the crowds along the street by bounding gracefully from rooftop to rooftop. Behind him the ends of his forehead protector streamed like banners. He could see the faces of people below, stepping out from their shops to investigate; each villager wondering which ninja was traveling over their heads in a blur.

Nearing the place where his team was to meet to train, the green-haired youth leapt from the rooftops to the ground, landing so elegantly that he was able to continue on without missing a step. He tore towards the clearing he could see on the horizon, at the center of which stood a large tree by which he was supposed to join his team. As the tree that marked his destination loomed in his vision, he skidded to a halt, colliding with the foot of one of his teammates, who had held it up to keep from being bowled over.

"Yuu-kun! Watch where the hell you're going!" The ebony haired girl with pink bangs shouted.

"Don't call me that, Uchiha!" Yuudai responded his hands balled into fists at his sides.

A laugh sounded from above, and the green-haired youth turned his gaze upwards to find the source. There hanging by the souls of her feet, clad in a purple top and grey cargo shorts, her forehead protector bound around her thigh, was a young girl with two short, dark pigtails, and teal eyes. Clearly amused at their bickering, she dropped from her perch and, landing gracefully at her teammate's sides, she spoke, "You're late Uzumaki-kun! We were supposed to start ten minutes ago!"

"Peh, like you couldn't have started without me!" Yuudai's golden eyes rolled as he spoke. Why should it even matter if he was late?

"I'd have been glad to," The Uchiha girl retorted, "If Kiba-sensei would have let us! Why the hell I had to get put on a team with you-"

She was cut off as the other female member of the team put a hand on her shoulder, "Oh, come on! We're teammates, we shouldn't be fighting, Uchiha-chan!"

"She's right, Akina" The three ninja turned to the source of the voice. Astride an oversized dog sat their sensei, Inuzuka Kiba, clad in black and mesh with his Jounín's vest left unzipped over the outfit, "You shouldn't fight; it makes it hard to work as a team."

He grinned as he hopped off Akamaru's back, "I'm the sensei, leave discipline to me, ne? That being said, you should try and be on time, Yuudai, y'know? What if it'd been a mission you were late for?"

"Fat chance," Yuudai muttered cynically, "We don't get to go on missions."

Akina quickly landed a blow upside of the green-haired boy's head, "Can it, Yuu-kun. You shouldn't talk back."

"What the hell was that for?!" The youth held a hand over the spot on the back of his head, "And _don't_ call me Yuu-kun!"

"Akina, what'd I just say?" Kiba sighed softly. For two years he'd been putting up with their bickering…and frankly it was starting to give him a headache, "Anyways, what do ya say we get started?"

"I say let's get going!" The purple clad girl responded enthusiastically.

"Right, Mine," Kiba smiled, gesturing to a nearby set of three padded poles that were to be used as training dummies, "Let's start with the basics."

Yuudai mumbled under his breath, but not so softly that his words escaped Kiba's ears. "We _know_ how to throw punches; shouldn't we be working on nin-jutsu?"

"And if your nin-jutsu fails, then what?" Kiba quirked a brow, "You need tai-jutsu to fall back on." He paused, then laughed slightly, shaking his head, "Man, I'm starting to sound like an old man. But ninja are put into situations where their nin-jutsu and gen-jutsu won't work. So, we start with tai-jutsu, now go!"

As the three Genin made their way to the training dummies, Akamaru's muzzle stretched open in a gaping yawn. He circled a couple times before finding a spot to rest as he observed his comrade's team at work. Each youth took a stance before a padded pole, and the punches began to fly. Fists flew through the air with blinding speed, legs were swung up to land kicks against the padding with dull thuds that echoed through the morning air.

Kiba leaned against the large tree, his arms folded across his chest as he watched his students, calling out advice when he felt they'd need it, and praising they're successes, "I shouldn't have to remind you to keep your eyes on the opponent, even if it is a post! Don't lean so far when you land a kick, it'll knock you off balance! Nice punch, Akina! Yuudai, take it seriously, would ya? That's how a kick's supposed to look, Mine! Good job!"

Yuudai let out an exasperated sigh as he landed a hard kick near the top of the post. Why did it seem Kiba was always picking on him? His punches picked up in intensity. To anyone without ninja training, they would seem nothing but a blur of motion. His assault on the post came to an end when his fist penetrated the padding, yellowish fluff spilling out of the hole.

"Great," Kiba winced as he took in the damage, "I'm gonna have to pay to fix that. Well, guess this means we should move on to something else. How about target practice?"

"Tch, you mean you want us to practice on a stationary target?" The ever-argumentative boy countered, earning an exasperated eye roll from Akina.

"I wouldn't be whining about it if I were you, Yuudai." Kiba replied, setting up a target on the already ruptured pole, "out of everyone here, you're the one that needs the most practice. It's like you aren't even trying."

"Maybe I'm not. Maybe these stupid training sessions are totally pointless!"

"Listen up: I'm the sensei! I decide what training is pointless and what training is necessary. If you don't like it, tough shit. A ninja is more than just a soldier, a ninja can work as a member of a team, and can take instruction from a leader. You aren't able to do either! Honestly, I'm not sure if you really even _want_ to become a ninja, but all you're doing at this point is holding your teammates back. Now shut up, and get serious!" The girls stared open mouthed at their sensei. They'd seen Kiba upset before, but never had he gone off quite like that. Yuudai and Kiba were in a stare down, each regarding the other angrily through narrowed eyes. Akamaru rose again to his massive paws, carefully watching the situation, ready to spring to his friend's aid should the student physically rebel.

"I will be a ninja," the golden-eyed Genin growled, "I won't fail…I'll be greater than even the Hokage!"

"Big words," Kiba huffed, gently tossing a kunai so that it stuck in the ground at his pupil's feet, "But can you hit the bull's eye?"

Yuudai stooped, pulling the short blade from the soil, his golden gaze betraying his anger as he launched the kunai towards the target mounted on the pole. His rage had formed an energy that had snaked its way down his arm, and as anger and hatred are known to do, it had increased the strength behind his attack. This extra force, however, had diverted the blade from its intended course, and the kunai lodged itself deep within the wood of a tree beyond their training area.

"Your anger and motivation make you strong…your dad was the same way. He learned to control it; I suggest you do too, if you want to be half the ninja he is." The sensei turned away from his students, moving towards where Akamaru, who had begun to relax once more, was circling in preparation to lie down. Kiba gestured to a sack containing kunai on the ground, "In case you don't have any…but you should start carrying them either way. You each get ten kunai, make them count. Yuudai, you're down to nine now…you might as well go first."

The Genin grumbled as he moved to the sack, pulling out nine kunai. One blade was hooked by the open loop of the dull end onto each of his fingers, with the index of his left hand bearing two. He silently turned and made his way back to the target, taking a stance before it, and dropping seven of the kunai to the ground. He would show his team just how awesome he could be! Taking a kunai in each hand, he launched them simultaneously toward the target. The first hit with a thud just off of the center circle, but the second had strayed to the right of the target, and sailed into the trees.

"Stop trying to show off," Kiba, who had seated himself at Akamaru's side and was now resting against the large dog's flank, shook his head as he spoke, "And start trying to do it right. If you just focus, then you can get it…or you wouldn't have been able to graduate!"

Yuudai took a deep breath, trying to focus on anything but the rage he felt at being singled out yet again by his sensei. He knew he could do this, so why was it so hard? Letting out the breath, he locked his gaze onto the crimson circle at the center of the target, and with a twist of his figure, he released the kunai. The small blade sliced through the air, and his aim proved true as it lodged itself deep at the center of the circle.

"See? What did I tell you? You have six more to go, keep it focused." Kiba smiled, pleased to see that Yuudai wasn't entirely incompetent. Of course, he'd already known that. Yuudai was a skilled fighter, but he tended to fight with his emotions, and not with his head. It was a problem that had been known to get Kiba into trouble when he was younger as well.

The mossy-haired shinobi gazed at the blade embedded in the target. Though his sensei's words had been intended as praise, they stung him. It felt as though the Jounin was rubbing his nose in the fact that he'd been wrong. Silently he took up another kunai, tossing it with a flick of the wrist, it landed just outside the inner circle. Another blade went soaring through the morning air, cutting into the target's center ring.

"Alright, now that you seem to have calmed down, try two at once again."

"Peh," Yuudai bent to pick up another two kunai. Despite Kiba's efforts to praise him, he was instead feeling patronized. In each hand he clutched a cold metal knife, taking a small jump back as he uncoiled the energy that had bound itself in his arms; he let the blades slice through the emptiness between him and the target. A dull thud sounded as the first sunk into the center ring, and a metallic clink echoed through the stillness as the second ground it's way alongside, barely notching itself into the target.

"That's it!" Kiba exclaimed excitedly, "You have the skill, and the determination, you've just gotta keep your head."

Yuudai blinked, caught slightly off guard by his sensei's excitement for him. It seemed that the Jounin was done belittling him. A small smile threatened to appear on the Genin's lips, but Yuudai quickly reminded himself not to let his guard down. The village had some vendetta against him, and he wouldn't let himself be lured into a false sense of camaraderie.

This time when he stooped, the green-haired youth took hold of each of the four remaining kunai. Standing, he took in the target, looking for the open spots where the blades would not ricochet off of those that had already hit their mark. He let them fly, in such rapid succession that they seemed to leave his grasp all at once, though each had been carefully aimed. A series of four dull thuds, and each blade found it's mark, studding the target with the cold metal projectiles.

"That was pretty good," Kiba nodded, taking in where the blades had impacted, each close to the center, centimeters away from one another, and the blades that had gone before them. He retrieved the kunai, "See what happens when you take it seriously? Akina, your turn."

With a nod, Akina made her way past the sensei, who was returning to his seat at Akamaru's side. She passed by the bag of kunai, relying instead on the ones stored in the pouch on her left hip. Retrieving the first of the small blades, she wordlessly let it fly towards the target. It sank just to the right of the center ring. Her lips fell into a small frown.

"Don't let one missed shot rattle you. Just try to get the next one right. Besides, at least you hit the target," Kiba reassured her, reaching out to scratch the massive dog behind its ear as he spoke.

Another silent nod as Akina drew her next blade; her teammates watched as the cold metal projectile sank deep into the center ring. A smirk flitted over the girl's lips, and she reached for another kunai.

"Hey, Uchiha," Yuudai's voice caused her to turn her head. She was clearly perturbed at having her concentration shattered, "If you throw them all one at a time, we'll be here all day! Pick up the pace!"

Akina was about to make a hot tempered reply when Kiba interrupted, "That's enough, Yuudai. There's no need to provoke a fight. She's your teammate. You have to work together, so you'd better get along! Akina, go ahead and make your next throw, but remember that you won't have such a long time in battle to line up your shots…"

"Yes, Kiba-sensei." The smug look that the Uchiha girl had born upon hearing Yuudai rebuked faded into one of shame when it turned out the green-haired Genin had had something of a point. From the corner of her ebony gaze she was able to see a smirk crossing the golden-eyed boy's lips.

Her own lips pursed in determination as she pulled out five kunai this time, determined to show up Yuudai's throw of four blades. There was a soft hiss as each blade sliced the air in rapid succession, and a sharp series of thuds, one, two, three…two of the kunai had missed. Ignoring the weapons that had hit their mark, the kunoichi glared at where the two that had missed had disappeared into the darkness of the surrounding trees.

Kiba sighed and shook his head, "What I told Yuudai about showing off goes for you too. And picking up the pace doesn't mean getting careless. Focus, but move quickly. Don't let some stupid rivalry ruin your effectiveness!"

"Alright," The word was spoken both to acknowledge her sensei, and to refocus her. There were only three kunai left; she'd wasted two of them stupidly trying to show up Yuudai. She stooped, scooping all three up by the handle, her left hand clasped around them. With a soft sigh she stared hard at the bull's-eye, shifting her grasp so that one of the small knives was clasped now in her right hand. With a determined breath, she launched them quickly, three thuds. Each Kunai had embedded itself within the center circle.

"Good, much better." Kiba gave an approving nod as the kunoichi retrieved her knives, "That leaves you, Mine."

Mine smiled broadly as she swiftly unfastened the pockets of her cargo shorts. Each pocket was thickly lined so as to prevent the contents from stabbing their owner, and contained five kunai, ready to be used. The pigtailed Genin lacked the rivalry that drove her teammates, but she had something else motivating her, ambition. She knew that she couldn't allow herself to do any less than her best if one day she hoped to reach her goal.

Akina, having finished the task of recollecting her kunai by tracking down the two that had strayed into the trees, returned to her sensei's side, leaning against the same nearby tree that Kiba had previously used to prop himself up. Her dark gaze focused on Mine. She knew well what her fellow kunoichi was capable of. Out of the three Genin, Mine was perhaps the most skilled. Though she did possess natural talent, she had striven hard to get to the point she was currently at. Akina had no doubt that one day Mine would achieve a place in the ANBU ranks.

Teal blue eyes trained on the target's center as Mine reached a hand into each pocket and withdrew two kunai. Despite the lack of missions given to Genin, Mine's equipment was well maintained, always in the best possible condition. Her hands, in one fluid motion, were drawn from her pockets, and the knives were cast through the air. Each sounded a dull thud as it burrowed into the target, mere millimeters away from one another at its center. Another two soon followed, landing one on either side of the first two.

Kiba chuckled, "Obviously there's nothing distracting Mine…"

A smile crossed Mine's lips at the words, and in spite of what had previously seemed perfect aim, when she let four kunai fly this time, they sunk into the outer rings of the target, with one soaring into the trees.

"Looks like I spoke to soon." Kiba sighed, "Oh well. Mine, you can't let someone talking break your concentration. When you're on a mission, you're in constant communication with your teammates, and your enemy can always try to distract you with chatter. You have to be able to focus on multiple things at once."

"Sorry," Mine sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. She'd have to remember to practice with her brother talking to her in the background…or maybe the TV going.

"Hey, everyone makes mistakes," The sensei reassured his pupils, "The key is to get them out of the way in training, so that you don't make them when there's a life on the line. Mine, you've got just two left…then it's time for multiple targets."

Mine grinned; throwing kunai at multiple targets was much more challenging than this child's play, "Right!"

She drew her final two kunai, and let them sail, each sinking deep into the target, one above her previous strikes, one below. Smiling she turned to face her teammates, "Now comes the fun part, ne?"

Akina looked at Mine, admiring her companion's enthusiasm and skill. If she could let mistakes roll off her like Mine seemed to, the Uchiha girl knew that she'd be much quicker to improve. Instead, she let her mistakes distract her, and that often caused her to mess up even more.

Yuudai's look was one of indignity. To him it seemed as though Mine was showing off, and rather than being scolded, she was praised because she succeeded. It was grossly unfair.

As Kiba went about setting up four extra targets, Mine gathered her kunai, and rather than sit about with nothing to do, Akina opted to help her. Once they had pried all the kunai from the target they'd been using, Kiba took hold of that one, moving it to another location. When all was set up, there was a target in the center of the clearing, one each attached to the trunk of a tree at either end of the clearing, one propped at an angle between a high branch and the trunk of a tree at the back of the clearing, and one barely visible amid the thick leaves of a shrub in front of the tree that Akina had been leaning on previously.

"Ugh, the hidden target is always hard," Mine winced as she tried to plan out a strategy, "Bet your kids haven't got a problem with it though, right, Kiba-sensei?"

Kiba chuckled and ran a hand through his brown locks, "Well, not everyone has Byakugan." Getting serious the sensei dropped his hand to his side, using the other to point out the targets, "You guys know the rules, five targets, five kunai, one chance."

"Right!" Mine nodded, her hands already inching towards her pockets.

Spotting her enthusiasm, her sensei grinned, "Alright then, you might as well go first since you're so anxious, Mine."

The kunoichi nodded, then took a running start, launching herself from one of the padded poles near the center of the clearing. Her leap sent her spinning, and as she rose she reached into her pockets, drawing out two kunai from her left pocket, and three from her right. At the heights of her jump she launched a blade towards the target wedged in the high branch, and another towards the one hidden in the bush. Descending her third and fourth kunai flew towards either end of the clearing, seeking the targets fastened to the trees there. As she landed, she found the target below her, and bearing the remaining blade in both hands, she landed with a foot on either side of the target, crouching above it, the kunai still in her grasp, buried deep in the very center of the rings. Now, bear in mind that all this happened much faster than words can describe. To eyes not trained to follow her movements, the Genin would have appeared but a blur.

Drawing several deep breaths to recover from the effort, Mine looked about to see if the other blades had hit their mark. Though it had indeed penetrated the target, her first kunai hit only its outer ring. The second missed entirely, her aim having been obscured by the bush. The third had sunken true into the center of the target, and the fourth had barely made it into the inner circle.

"Only one completely missed. Not bad." Kiba encouraged her, "But unfortunately, not good enough. If you're going to hit a target, you need to try and take them out, meaning you need to hit the spot you intend to, whether it's a fatal or disabling blow."

"Who are we supposed to fight?" Yuudai quirked a brow, all this senseless training was beginning to get to him. It was one thing to train if you were going to actually put it to good use. But when the closest thing you got to a mission was saving the crazy cat lady's favorite feline from a tree, there was hardly a point. At the very least, couldn't they get a mission more than a few feet from the village walls?

"Only the people you have to," the sensei replied, taking the sarcastic remark in stride, "Just because Genin haven't been given missions in recent years, that doesn't mean that there won't ever come a time when you'll have to battle. You're still ninja, and there's still a chance that an enemy might find you, even within Konoha. We've been attacked before, and it could happen again. So, our ninja have to be ready when the time comes. That said; don't go picking fights just because you're restless. You'll get your chance, however long it takes, that's a sure thing."

It was probably the longest and most serious speech the Jounin had given his team. Mine and Akina exchanged meaningful glances. Yuudai folded his arms over his chest, contemplating silently. Each of them had the same thought echoing in their mind. They'd been training for years, but if it came time to apply what they had learned, would they be able to?

Sensing the darkening mood of the students, Kiba broke the silence, "Sorry to get all heavy on you, but I'm sure when the time comes you'll all do great! Anyways, why doesn't Yuudai go next? Ah, but first, Mine, could you go collect your kunai?"

"Ah! Right!" Mine had been so intent on what her sensei had been saying she'd entirely forgotten. In a short time she'd gathered the blades, and replaced them into her pockets.

Now, it was the golden-eyed shinobi's turn. He retrieved five kunai from Kiba's sack of blades, and took a place in the center of the clearing. Quickly his gaze flitted from one target to the next as he judged their positions. Taking hold of a single blade between his teeth, he carefully grasped the other four, then launched into the attack. Running straight for one of the padded poles, he let fly a single kunai, which struck the center of the angled target high in the tree, next in one fluid motion the three blades that remained in his grasp darted from his hands, through the air, and towards their perspective goals. As he leapt to the top of the pole he turned ever so slightly, taking the kunai from between his teeth and tossing it easily into the center of the target that rested on the ground. As for the three remaining targets: the one to the far left of the field had been struck within its second circle; the one to the far right had been passed by, the kunai biting instead into the wood of the tree; and the blade that sliced into the bush had sunken into the outer edge of the target.

"Not bad," Kiba remarked, and Akamaru barked his agreement, "You hit nearly all of them. If only you had the same focus when trying to hit a single target…"

Yuudai scoffed, hating the idea of being mocked by his sensei, and went to retrieve the blades. The pigtailed Genin who had gone before him spoke as he did so, "You know, he's not teasing you, Uzumaki-kun. It's Kiba-sensei job to teach us what we've done wrong as well as what we've done right. And you should always focus! No matter how simple a task might seem!"

"Mi-chan!" Akina chuckled as she drew five Kunai in preparation for her own turn, "Stop trying to suck up!"

"I'm not!" Mine insisted, but she too soon broke into a peal of laughter. She knew her friend was only teasing, "Oi, good luck, Uchiha-chan!"

Akina nodded as she took up her stance. Quick as a flash she began her assault on the targets. Her strategy differed from her teammates'. Rather than align herself with the most obviously easy target, she charged for the bush. A blade sliced the air to either side as she did so. At a range of only a few feet, she shot a kunai into the bush before rapidly turning and firing the remaining two. As a result, the kunai in the bush had struck true, a bull's eye. The ones to either side were within centimeters of their mark, having sunken into the second circle. On the ground at the center of the clearing, another bull's eye had been made. But high in the tree, the target stood untouched. The blade had cut into the tree much lower than intended, missing the mark entirely.

"Damn," Akina muttered under breath. She'd been so sure she could hit them all.

"I don't want to make you feel worse, but consider this," Kiba pointed out, "You spent the most time focused on the target in the bush. If an opponent had made it that clear where he was hiding, it would probably be a trap."

"Uh…bu…Grr!!" Akina pulled at her pink bangs in frustration, "Dammit!"

"Don't get so upset," Kiba sighed, "That's why we have these exercises. Yuudai, stop smirking over there! It isn't as though you've got perfect aim either!"

Yuudai's small smirk quickly fell into a scowl. But, the point was made…judge not lest ye be judged…or something like that.

"You know what…I think we've had enough for today. No sense getting you all worked up. Why don't you go home and get some lunch?"

With that, the three Genin began their treks home. They walked along the dirt roads, Akina and Mine busily talking about how to improve their skills, and what new techniques they'd picked up. Yuudai trailed behind, still seething from the training session. Akina cast a glance over her shoulder, and spotted the green-haired Genin glaring hard at the ground. Rolling her eyes and sighing she turned, walking backwards so that she could address the boy.

"Oi, Yuu-kun," The only sign her teammate gave that he had heard her, was a twitch at the loathed nickname, "You'd do a lot better if you'd just listen to Kiba-sensei, instead of taking everything he says as a personal attack."

"I'm not!" Golden eyes narrowed as he replied, "It's not my fault that the damn village has some sort of vendetta against me!"

"You aren't going to go off on that again, are you?!" The black haired girl shook her head, pink bangs dancing against her brow with the action, "Get it through that thick head of yours that not everyone is out to get you!"

"Yeah, they make me feel _so_ loved!" Yuudai spat sarcastically.

"It wouldn't hurt for _you_ to try a little bit, you know? It's hard to get along with someone who…"

"Who what?" Her teammate cut her off, "Doesn't belong to your wonderful little village?"

"I wasn't going to say that! For Kami's sake, you've lived here since you were like two!" Akina shouted in frustration, "You don't exactly make it easy to get along with you when you don't seem to _want_ to be liked!"

"Yeah, people are falling all over themselves to try to be my friend." Yuudai's string of sarcasm continued.

Without even thinking about it, Akina's fist was moving through the air towards her teammate. If she couldn't talk any sense into him, then she had no choice but to beat it into him! Yuudai's reflexes were quick, however, and before she could strike he'd caught her fist, mere inches from his face.

"I'm not fighting you." He muttered, "I don't want to have to hurt you."

Mine and Akina scoffed in unison, the pigtailed girl speaking this time, "Oh right. What, because we're girl's you think we'd be so easy to hurt? I'll have you know that Akina and I are –"

But her lecture was interrupted by a smirking Akina, "Oh please. He's not really worried about hurting me. Why would he be? I mean, you and I do so much better during training, right Mi-chan? He's just scared because he knows I could kick his ass."

"Wanna bet, Uchiha?" The young man growled, infuriated at the accusation that he might actually be afraid.

"Yeah." The pink-banged girl continued to smirk, her dark eyes narrowing in a challenge, "You and I both know you're nowhere near as tough as you think!"

"Alright then," There was a soft popping sound as Yuudai flexed his fingers, causing the knuckles to crack. He crouched into a fighting stance, taking in his opponent through a narrowed golden gaze, "But don't think I'll be going easy on you."

"Oh, so _now_ you're willing to fight?" Akina fell into her own stance, not bothering to notice the concerned glance that Mine


	3. Episode 2: Dangerous Times!

Episode 2: _Dangerous Times! Genin without Missions!_

Yuudai glared at his teammate. The very idea of being called a coward made his blood churn. Girl or not, teammate or not, there was no way he was letting _anyone_ get away with that! He fell into a fighting stance, his golden eyes narrowed at his opponent, "Don't think I'll be going easy on you."

"Oh, so now you're willing to fight?" Akina's dark gaze swirled as it shifted into the crimson Sharingan. Once she had him upset, she knew Yuudai would be hardly a match for her. And the kekki genkai just gave her an added advantage, "Alright then, bring it on!"

"Anno…Uchiha-chan, this probably isn't a very good idea." The warning of the pigtailed girl was, however, wasted amidst the tension.

"Oh no, Mi-chan. It's a very good idea. Yuu-kun may not know it, but his little emo act is a load of bull! It's about time that someone knocked some sense into him!" The Uchiha youth kept her crimson gaze trained on the boy, not risking becoming distracted.

"Yeah, but Kiba-sensei _did_ say we shouldn't fight. And he had a point! We're supposed to be a team." The teal eyed girl could sense the rage building between her teammates. She was honestly concerned that someone would get hurt, "Besides, you know that your parents would be angry!"

"Wouldn't want your parents getting pissed off, Uchiha." Yuudai growled, waiting for his opponent to make the first move, "Maybe you'd better run home and forget fighting."

"I meant you too, Uzumaki-kun!" Mine insisted, "Your dad…"

"What, the Hokage?" Yuudai shook his head, "Who cares! He's not my dad!" His gaze never left Akina, and he once more addressed her, "Are you gonna fight, or are you just going to stand there! If you're so keen to knock some sense into me, do it already!"

The tension that had been building snapped like a rubber band. Akina launched herself at Yuudai, shouting as she did so, "You selfish little jerk! Hokage-sama took you in! And that's how you talk about him?"

Yuudai managed to dodge the first blow, a fist directed at his face. He was about to make a comment of his own when Akina's foot connected with his gut. He was sent spiraling head over heels. By the time he landed a few yards away he had regained himself and angled his feet below him. The blue-clad Uchiha was once more charging him, her fist ready to collide with his gut. The moss-haired boy caught her wrist, knocking the blow aside. His own attack was launched, a kick to the head. But the Sharingan allowed Akina to see the move coming, and she quickly ducked down, sweeping her own leg beneath the boy. Although he was precariously 

balanced on one foot, Yuudai sprang away from the kick, landing feet away just in time to be caught in the jaw by a clenched fist.

"Alright…you've had your little fight," Mine tried in vain to interject, but her teammates ignored her plea.

"Took me in?" Yuudai spat as he wiped a trickle of blood from his split lip, aiming a blow for the Akina's gut, "Out of pity, like some stray animal!"

"For Kami's sake!" Akina shouted in reply, kicking his fist aside, and twisting in an amazing feat of acrobatics to balance herself on her palms as she landed a kick on Yuudai's chest, which sent him toppling to the ground, "A couple of kids make some dumb remark, and it becomes your whole life! Hokage-sama took you in out of compassion! He cares about you, and if you'd get your head out of your ass, you might realize other people do too!"

"Like who? You? Kiba-sensei? If you care so damn much why are you always making my life such a hell!?" dragging himself up from the dirt, Yuudai launched a fierce series of blows, hoping the sheer number of attacks would catch Akina's Sharingan off guard.

In rapid succession Akina blocked the moves, her Sharingan able to read them perfectly, "Because you make it impossible to do anything else!"

The Uchiha girl was about to set in with a barrage of her own when a voice echoing in the street stopped her, "Onee-chan!"

She turned to see a young boy with ebony hair and green eyes running her way, flanked by girls clad one in red, and one in green, with their hair in buns. Each girl had one pale eye, and one chocolate brown eye. While she was distracted, Yuudai took the opportunity to land a punch on her chin, sending her stumbling back a few step. The advancing boy and his friends skidded to a halt at the sight.

"You JERK!" Akina shouted, launching forward with a hard hit, her fist driving into Yuudai's gut. The blow knocked the wind out of him, and the moss haired Genin toppled to the ground gasping. She pushed stray hair from her crimson gaze; which continued to focus harshly on the defeated boy.

"Onee-chan?" The green eyed boy looked from the collapsed Yuudai to his sister, obviously bothered by the sight, "You and Yuudai-kun got into a fight again?"

"Don't worry about it." His older sister reassured him, reaching out to muss his hair, "How was your first day of training as a Genin?"

"Great!" The boy's concern faded as he pointed to his two companions, "These are my teammates, Hyuuga Sumi and Hyuuga Kagami!"

"Nice to meet both of you," Akina bowed slightly to the twins. While this was going on, Yuudai had regained his composure, and was struggling to his feet.

Mine gazed at him in concern, taking a step forward, "Uzumaki-kun, are you okay?"

"Tch." That single syllable was all he breathed before stalking off down the street.

"Yuu-kun, seriously, if you were a little friendlier, then people would be nicer to you!" A familiar voice called after him, the pink banged girl having her final say. As Yuudai retreated to nurse his wounded pride, and a split lip, he could hear her talking to her brother.

"That idiot Uchiha." Yuudai muttered to himself as he walked through the dusty streets of Konoha. He reached to his lip with his thumb and wiped away some blood that had already begun to dry, smearing it across his chin in a thin line, "She doesn't know a damn thing!"

Yet, as he walked, images of those in the village floated through his mind. Who was it that for all these years had made him feel so inferior? Visions of his classmates from the academy drifted to and from the surface of the thoughts. Nothing but smiling faces, turned away by a sharp word. The cruel and sneering features of taunting were spread across the faces of those older than himself. Probably the last class from the academy to actually have the Chuunin exams, at least two years ahead of him. And when Naruto's face found its way into the dancing memories, it seemed so kind. Even when scolding him, the face held a sort of sorrow. Was what Akina had said a truth? No…Yuudai shook his head. He couldn't allow his guard to fall. They would only hurt him again then.

The green-haired youth paused, glancing up as he caught his reflection in the window. Blood smeared across his features. His lip had begun to swell where it had been split. He could already feel the bruise forming in the shape of Akina's foot against his ribs. The Hokage would be mad…that was for sure. Naruto was always yelling at Yuudai for getting into meaningless fights. The Genin scoffed, looking at the dusty road as he licked his thumb, scrubbing away what was left of the smeared blood. He reminded himself that he didn't care what the Hokage thought.

"Oi! Yuudai!" The shinobi's golden gaze snapped up in surprise to see a grinning blond man with whisker marks upon his cheeks striding toward him, the cloak of the Hokage swirling proudly about him. Naruto waved at his adopted son, "You never ate breakfast, so I thought we could stop in at Ichiraku's for some ramen! You can't skip out on lunch too!"

"Umm…" Yuudai blinked, having been suddenly jerked out of his thoughts. Doubtless, the offer would be revoked once Naruto noticed the battle scars upon his features, so why should the boy accept?

"Eh?" The Hokage stopped and stared at the split lip, which looked swelled and sore, "Kiba had you guys sparring, huh? Looks like a tough day of training! Well, let's go get that ramen!"

A bead of sweat trickled down the boy's brow at the older man's obliviousness. Not for the first time he wondered how on earth Naruto had become Hokage. A soft gurgle from his stomach, however, reminded him that he had more important things to think about, "Fine. Let's go."

It was awkwardly silent as Yuudai and his adoptive father made their way towards the Hokage's favourite dining venue. The Genin's golden gaze remained focused on the packed dirt of the street, and he knew that sooner or later Naruto would discover he had been in a fight with his teammate, and that then he would be reprimanded. It was not so much that the idea of having the Hokage angry with him, or his father's disappointment in his actions concerned him; at least that is what he told himself. He simply hated to be told that he was wrong.

Taking notice of his son's strained silence as they passed below the hanging fabric which marked the entrance to Ichiraku; Naruto turned and glanced down at the boy. He took in the sight of the furrowed brow, the downturned corners of Yuudai's mouth, "Did training go alright?"

The hint of concern in the Hokage's voice caught the Genin's attention, and his gaze lifted, briefly meeting the blue eyes of his adoptive father before he shrugged and looked away once more. Sliding onto a stool in front of the counter he replied, "It went well enough."

Naruto sighed at the boy's unresponsive attitude. Just once he wished he could get Yuudai to talk to him, to be straight about something. He took a seat beside the mossy-haired Genin, and in very short time a smiling woman approached them, "Hello, Hokage-sama! Always a pleasure to see you!"

"Hey, Ayame-chan," Naruto grinned at the woman he had known since his own Genin days, "Where else do you think I would go for ramen!"

The older woman laughed and shook her head slightly, "You may have grown up, but you're still the same Naruto."

"Believe it!" He laughed as well. At his side his son was gazing into the distance, looking thoroughly bored by the conversation.

"Ah, I see you brought your son with you today! Long time no see, Yuudai-kun!" The Genin twitched slightly at being called Naruto's son. He hadn't viewed the Hokage as his father in a very long time, "How old are you now? Fourteen?"

"Yeah." Yuudai confirmed, with a small nod of his head.

"Well," Ayame pulled a small notepad from her apron, "What can I get for you two?"

"Hmmm," Naruto licked his lips as he thought of all the delicious varieties of ramen he wanted to eat, "Why don't you start me off with some shrimp," He turned to the Genin at his side, "What about you, Yuudai?"

Yuudai shrugged, "I guess I'll have the same."

"Right. I'll get that for you then." She jotted the orders on the pad and slid it back into her pocket, a bright smile on her face, "And tell you what, it's my treat for today! Naruto-kun, you may be Hokage now, but you should try to stop in more often! We don't see you nearly as much as we used to!"

"Hey, running Konoha is a big job, dattebayo!" He laughed with a grin, "But I'll try to come by when I can!"

"You do that." With that, Ayame went about the task of preparing the ramen they had ordered, leaving the father and son to continue their previous discussion.

"So," Naruto smiled at Yuudai, "Who did Kiba have you sparring with?"

"Huh?" Yuudai blinked, unsure of what the Hokage was talking about.

"That fat lip," His father replied, gesturing to his own lips with his thumb, "Who were you sparring with?"

"Oh!" At this point the Genin recalled that Naruto had assumed the injury on his face had come from a training spar arranged by his sensei. Not exactly lying he replied, "Akina."

Precisely then, who should walk through the door but a crowd of five, the pink banged kunoichi among them. At the head of the group was a face long familiar to Naruto, a comrade whose return he never ceased to be thrilled at, "Sasuke! Hey Sasuke, over here!"

"I heard you," The dark haired ninja replied with an exasperated sigh, though a smile played on his lips as he made his way over to his friend. Close behind him followed his children and his wife, a pink haired med-nin also familiar to Naruto.

"Well thanks for saying hi to me too," She remarked sarcastically, arms folded over her chest. Though it irked her to have been overlooked by her former teammate, she understood. After all, Naruto had risked his life bringing Sasuke back home – they both had – and he was a very important part of both their lives.

"Ah! Sorry Sakura-chan!" Naruto chuckled nervously, recalling the many times in their early years as Genin that the fierce girl had pummeled him for stupid mistakes. Of course, as they had matured into adults, her temper had dulled some, but she still retained the fiery spirit that had drawn him to her in their youth, "Of course I'm happy to see you!"

"Well, that's more like it!" She smiled, moving to Sasuke and wrapping her arms loosely about his waist. She cast her pale green gaze to the boy seated at Naruto's side, "Hello, Yuudai-kun. How are you?"

"Alright, I guess," Yuudai responded with a shrug. His golden eyes drifted to Akina, and narrowed as they landed on her. He could see that her own dark gaze was focused on his swelling lip.

"Akina! Aren't you even going to say hi to your teammate?" Her mother chided.

"Hello, Yuu-kun." She muttered, averting her gaze. She really hadn't meant to hurt him so badly…but if there was one thing she had poor control of, it was her temper.

"Don't call me that." Yuudai responded automatically, his eyes narrowing further.

Between Akina and her younger brother Yasuo stood a tall, lithe boy with a short, low ponytail wrapped in crimson ribbon most of the way down. A small smirk spread on his lips as he spotted the swollen lip, "Get in a fight?"

"Maybe…" was the grumbled reply. By this point Ayame had returned and was setting the ramen they had ordered in front Naruto and his son.

Looking to Sakura and Sasuke the older woman smiled, "Well, get Kakashi-san in here and it would be a team seven reunion!"

Her joke did little to break the tension between the younger generation. Akina looked at the boy who was still smirking at her teammate, "Taro…don't."

"Don't what?" Taro shrugged, "It's not like I was planning to point out that he got his ass kicked or anything."

"Taro!" His mother cut in scolding him, "You keep that up and you're going to get your own ass kicked when we get home!"

"Maybe I should come back for your order later…" Ayame murmured, unnoticed as she stepped away from the counter.

Taro Uchiha flinched at his mother's scolding. Turning his dark gaze towards her he sheepishly explained, "Sorry, Okaa-san. I was just joking!"

A small smirk flickered over Sasuke's lips at his son's reaction. He knew his oldest child's desire to appear tough tended to interfere with his common sense at times. But if there was one way to snap him back into place, it was to bring Sakura into it. She was about the only thing he could think of the boy would openly show fear of.

"Onee-chan," Yasuo spoke, not thinking of the fact that the idea of a fight would get his sister in trouble, "I think you hit him a little too hard…"

"Ototo!" She hissed, but it was too late. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura had heard the comment and put the equation together.

"You two were fighting, again!" The three former teammates replied in unison, voices tense with anger at the two Genin's constant battling.

"Yuudai! How many times have I told you not to do that?" Naruto sighed exasperatedly, "You need to get along with your teammates!"

At the same time, Sakura was scolding her own child, "What were you thinking?"

"I'm sorry Okaa-san!" She attempted, but her mother continued going.

"You shouldn't be fighting with your teammates!" The pink haired woman gestured to Yuudai as she spoke, emphasizing the point.

"I know, but –" again her attempt at an explanation was interrupted.

"But?! But what! Teams are supposed to work together!" Sakura continued to rant. At this point however, she herself was stopped by a louder, younger shout.

"You tell me and you tell me! You act like you actually _care_ or something! You say you're my father, but you don't even trust me to go on a mission! You don't trust any of the Genin though, do you? So why the hell do we even bother training!!" Yuudai's voice was rising in pitch as his rant continued. By the time he was done, even people on the street had stopped to stare at the ramen shop. He stormed away, his bowl of ramen still untouched as he burst out onto the street. He halted, noticing the eyes focused on him, the people staring only increased his frustration and anger, "What the hell do you want?"

With that he took off at a run, racing through the streets and not stopping until he reached his destination, his so-called home. He burst into his room, and slammed the door shut behind him.

"_That's_ why we got into a fight," Akina sighed once the boy was gone; "He's always disrespecting Hokage-sama, even after all that he's done for Yuu-kun!"

"Well that's a matter for Yuudai and Naruto to work out on their own!" Sakura began, "It wasn't you're place to –"

"Stop," A clam voice cut in. Sakura turned to see Sasuke, his arms folded, eyes closed as he sighed softly, "Sakura, you're overreacting…you and Naruto both. Akina…your mother's right. It's not your place to try to make Yuudai respect his father. Still, how many fights did the three of us get into?"

The last statement was directed to his teammates, who glanced at each other as they remembered their youth. Naruto grinned at the memories, "He's right, we did fight a lot, 'ttebayo."

"It's part of growing up." Sasuke shrugged as he continued, "Unfortunately, as shinobi the children of Konoha are forced to grow up quickly. Childish fights must be avoided."

The three young Uchiha's looked at each other. Akina bore a slight look of shame for her earlier actions; Yasuo was nodding in agreement with his father's words. Looking at Taro, it was difficult to decide what he might have been thinking. Perhaps he was simply digesting the information without showing any signs, or perhaps he planned to simply disregard it.

"You're right, Sasuke-kun." Sakura smiled gently at her beloved husband, she returned to his side and kissed his cheek affectionately.

Hearing that the argument had ceased, Ayame took the chance to tend to the customers. Once more approaching the Uchiha brood, she ventured a timid smile, "Now, can I get you anything?"

"Two chicken ramen, two beef and a shrimp," Sasuke replied, the family having discussed what they were hungry for on the way, "Thanks, Ayame."

"Alright," She jotted the order down and stepped away from the counter, calling over her shoulder, "Coming right up!"

"Hey, Ayame!" Naruto called, his voice carrying a dejected tone, "Yuudai already headed home…could I have a take-out container for his ramen?"

"Sure, Hokage-sama! Just a sec, okay?" She sent him a smile, which he returned, and set about her work, preparing the Uchiha clan's order to cook, and then fetching a small plastic bowl with a lid for the Hokage. When she returned to give him the container, she found him in conversation with Sasuke.

"You can't blame the boy for being frustrated," Sasuke was saying to his old friend, having taken a seat beside the blond. Beside Sasuke sat his wife, and beyond her were his children, seated in order from oldest to youngest. The Uchiha patriarch continued, "He's been spending two years training, with no real experience."

"I know," Naruto sighed, "It's just so dangerous these days…there aren't any missions I would dare to rank below an A with the risk of ambush where ever you go…"

"We were in plenty dangerous situations when we were his age. The first real mission we went on, where we helped the bridge builder…it ended up an A rank, didn't it?" It seemed like so long ago to Sasuke, ages. So much had happened in his youth, much of which he'd rather just forget, "And by the time I was your son's age…well…"

Naruto nodded, himself reliving the old days. His smile was small and sad, his eyes glazed over as he stared at his untouched ramen, "It's him; you know….the one they're looking for. I tried to tell myself it wasn't. That if I kept him here, he'd be safe…but it's him."

"Whether or not he's the one they're after…you can't protect him forever. He's a shinobi…a soldier. At his age, we had very similar problems." His onyx gaze dropped as he glanced towards his shoulder, thinking of the curse mark Orochimaru had placed there so long ago, "The Akatsuki were after you…and I had only vengeance on my mind."

"I was hoping that he could avoid being hunted." Naruto chuckled half heartedly, "If I remember right it wasn't exactly a blast. Though we had our good times."

"So…what makes you so sure it's him they're after, anyways?" Sakura broke into the conversation. Though her children were eating silently, they strained to hear the adult's hushed conversation.

"Twelve years ago…when Kiri was attacked and Sai, Sasuke and I, along with other Anbu ops went to help out…the survivors described the attackers," Naruto explained, "They had golden eyes and hair that ranged from silver to deep blue, and I guess the shades of blue in between. Anyways, apparently there was a guy who'd settled in the village a few years earlier who fit the same description, light blue hair and gold eyes. He got married, had a kid…he and his wife were killed in the attack…but they managed to keep the kid safe."

"It was Yuudai…" Sakura concluded. She'd never heard the entire story, only that Naruto had discovered the orphan and taken him in, "But maybe it's not the same people!"

"The few shinobi who've survived recent attacks give the same description," Sasuke confirmed, causing his wife's frown to deepen, "And there's more. Water attacks that we've only seen once before are being used against the teams that are attacked."

"The same attacks as twelve years ago?" Sakura's guess was validated as the two men nodded in response. Tears began to well up in her green eyes as she sat silent for a few moments. By the time she had started talking again, they were threatening to spill over, her voice quaking, "Alright, so it's him! Naruto, I know you want to keep him safe…so do I! My babies are all shinobi now! But we can't protect them forever!"

"S-Sakura-chan! Don't cry!" Naruto looked at her wide eyed. He'd always hated to see girls cry, or anyone cry for that matter. But especially Sakura, who still held a special place in his heart.

"Naruto…" She struggled to keep her voice calm and yet strong as the tears trickled down her soft cheek, "W-we have to let them go…sooner or later, even if we keep them here, those men are going to find out where Yuudai is! They'll come here and attack. Keeping him here won't really prevent the danger…you know that!" She wiped away the tears, and sniffed softly, forcing a small smile on her face, "Besides…they're stronger than you think…I believe in my children…in all of our children. We've taught them well. I have confidence that Lee, Kiba, Hinata and Shikamaru can lead them through any danger…like Kakashi-sensei did for us!"

By this time, Sakura's voice had grown strong enough that even her children could clearly hear her. They glanced at one another, unsure of exactly what was being said. Only 

knowing that it had something to do with Yuudai, and why the Genin were not allowed to go on missions. They knew about the attacks, but were unaware of the whole story, the connection between the attackers and the Hokage's son.

Naruto nodded slowly, his face bearing a serious expression as he thought over what his friends had said. At last his mouth shifted into an oh so familiar grin "You're right, as usual, Sakura-chan. But if I let the Genin go on missions…they'll want to be allowed to become Chuunin next. So I know just what to give them as a first mission, dattebayo."

Sasuke and Sakura glanced at each other as Naruto began to eat his ramen, falling into silence. What was their former teammate planning? They had an idea, but didn't know for sure.

"Oi," Naruto murmured through a mouthful, "Aren't you gonna eat?"

Blinking as they looked at the counter in front of them, the couple realized their order had been filled while they were talking to Naruto. Each taking hold of a pair of chopsticks, they gave the customary thanks before beginning to eat.

Quickly finishing his own ramen and emptying Yuudai's meal into the small plastic bowl, which he then pressed the lid onto, Naruto stood and turned to leave. As he went he called over his shoulder, "Well, I got stuff to take care of! See ya around!"

Forty-five minutes after his angry departure from Ichiraku, Yuudai still lay on his bed, his eyes closed as the day's events ran through his head. Perhaps he had overreacted to the Hokage's scolding, but he wasn't about to admit it! He sighed softly, shifting into a sitting position as his golden eyes slid open.

It was just then that there was a rap on the door. Without waiting to hear Yuudai respond, the knocker opened the door enough to stick his head in, revealing himself to be Naruto, "Yuudai, can I come in?"

Yuudai shrugged, not turning to face his adoptive father, "I don't see why not. Even if I said no, you wouldn't listen."

"Probably not," Naruto entered, bearing the plastic bowl from Ichiraku, whose contents had been reheated and were giving off a delicious scent with the steam that poured from the noodles, "'Cause food is more important than being angry, 'ttebayo."

The Genin sighed, taking the food as the Hokage offered it. Breaking open a pair of chopsticks, he began to eat slowly, not wanting to reveal just how hungry he really was, "What do you want, anyways?"

"To say I'm sorry. I guess I overreacted at Ichiraku. I mean, I had my fair share of fights with Sasuke. Not that that means you should fight! You still have to try to get along!" He added the last two comments as an after thought, not wanting his son to think he was condoning the constant battles with Akina, "Anyways…you eat. I've got some work to get done!"

As Naruto turned to leave, Yuudai let out another sigh, "Oi, Hokage."

Naruto cast a sapphire glance back at the boy, "Yeah?"

"Thanks." There was a short pause, "For bringing the ramen, I mean."

"No problem!" The Hokage's face shifted into a bright grin. And with that he left the room, bound for his office where he had several important things to do before the next day.


	4. Episode 3: Let the Genin Fight!

**Author's Note:** We would like to apologize for the unedited quality of this episode. Our editor was affected by the recent hurricanes, and so was unable to return the proofread episode to the author. If you spot any mistakes, please post a comment letting us know, and the errors will be fixed at our earliest convenience. Please be a specific as possible as to the location of the error.

Thank you,

Soul Raider 116 and the rest of the Shimei staff.

_

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_Episode Three: Let the Genin Fight!_

"Wake up." The command was simple, straightforward, and successful as it roused Akina from an uneventful slumber. The Genin rubbed sleep from her dark eyes as she blinked up at her older brother, already clad in his Chuunin vest, which he had personalized by adding the Uchiha crest and placing the metal portion of his forehead protector over the shoulder. His outfit also consisted of red sweatbands around his wrists, dark blue shorts, and boots which also displayed the crest of the clan. His hair, which when left loose was long enough to tickle about his shoulders, had been drawn back and fastened by wrapping it with a red cord.

"What for?" The kunoichi rolled her gaze to the side, taking in the time on the clock, it was only 7 o'clock and she was fairly certain Kiba hadn't scheduled training until nine. It was then that she remembered getting a message the night before mentioning a meeting at eight, "I only have an hour to get ready! You should have woken me up earlier you idiot!"

With that, she raced from the room, barricading herself in the bathroom. She stripped of her pastel nightgown, and gingerly stepped into the shower. Turning the knobs, the water began to fall, and she flinched at its initial coldness. Eventually, however, the water warmed, and she sighed at the relaxing effect of the warm deluge cascading over her.

By the time she emerged from the shower, fluffy white towels wrapped tightly around her body and hair, a half hour had passed already. Quickly she ran down the hallway and to her room. As she passed through her doorway, she spat the froth from brushing her teeth into a nearby trashcan. Tearing the towel from her torso, she hurriedly slipped into a powder blue dress, whose hemline stopped short of her knees. The next step was to smear some moisturizers and acne preventing medicines over her face. Grabbing her brush she ran it through her dark locks, making certain to curl the pink bangs under ever so slightly. To finalize her outfit she fastened her forehead protector about her waist, which held against to her a small pouch of kunai, and added a touch of sheer gloss to her lips.

Once she was ready, she made her way down the stairs to get some breakfast. She grabbed a couple slices of bread and took a seat at the table across from her brothers, both of whom had finished getting ready for the day and were watching her as she ate.

"I wonder what this meeting's about…" Yasuo murmured, tugging at his sleeve nervously. The shinobi was clad in his usual attire. His blue top had sleeves that reached past his wrists, and which he folded over to keep from being too long, the collar was a very loose 

turtleneck style, and on the back was the Uchiha crest, a standard for all outfits belonging to the clan. His shorts were a paler blue, and at his hip was attached a satchel in which he stored his kunai. The metal plate which bore the familiar symbol of the village was bound across his brow with a black band of fabric.

"The messenger didn't say," Taro replied; his eyes closed as his chin rested on the palm of his hand, "Just that all three of us were supposed to go…and that you two should meet with your sensei once we get there."

Akina was devouring her breakfast as quickly as possible, taking large gulps from a glass of milk between bites. When at last she had finished she pushed away from the table, dropping the used dishes into the sink as she headed for the door, "Well, we'd better get going before we're late!"

"You don't have to tell us that," the eldest Uchiha child reminded her, "You're the last one ready. Why on earth do you take so long primping anyway?"

"Just shut up and move!" Akina flushed at the comments and slid into her sandals before rushing out the door. Following after her, the two boys did the same, and soon enough they were jogging down the dusty streets of Konoha towards the place where they would meet with the Hokage.

As they ran they spotted a group of ninja in the distance, a blonde shinobi with his hair pulled into a spiked ponytail at the nape of his neck, wearing a pale green vest that might easily be mistaken for a Chuunin uniform which stopped just above his naval fastened over a mesh shirt, and low riding brown pants held up by the forehead protector that, like Akina's, was fastened around his waist. While this boy kept a slow, leisurely pace, the kunoichi ahead of him was walking slightly faster, although she was facing him and moving backwards. Her hair was fastened in two, short, brown pigtails that were easily recognizable to Akina. She was clad in her usual lilac hued shirt and grey cargo shorts, the metallic plate with the village insignia tied about her thigh. Keeping pace with the girl, though facing forward, the next in the group was a Jounin. This man also bore a single ponytail, though his was far darker than that of the shinobi. He too wore sleeves of mesh beneath the vest required by his post. Dark pants reached to his ankles. His forehead protector was tacked loosely to his mesh sleeve, clearly having been added with minimal effort.

As they drew close enough to hear what was being said, they were not surprised to hear Mine sighing in exasperation at her brother, "Nii-san, can't you move any faster? We're going to be late!"

"What's the hurry?" the elder Genin replied with a shrug, "I think Hokage-sama will wait till we get there."

"I've seen snails that move faster than you!" his sister tried once more to coax him into faster movement, "Even Otou-san isn't this lazy!"

As if to prove her wrong, the Jounin let out a deep yawn, sliding his hands into his pockets as he continued walking, "Why on earth did Naruto schedule a meeting so early anyways…?"

The girl's teal eyes slid shut as she emitted another sigh. Continuing to walk backwards she was focused on trying to come up with a way to get her family out of their lazy streak. It was clear to her father and her brother that she was becoming more and more frustrated with them, but didn't want to start a fight, or head off on her own.

The Uchiha were watching this unfold from their short (and growing shorter) distance behind the Nara family. Akina turned to her brother with a small smile, "Hey, I'll catch you two there, okay? Nii-san, try not to traumatize Ototo-chan, okay?"

"Just go," Taro dismissed his sister with a wave of his hand. The youngest Uchiha sent Akina a forlorn look, as though begging her to stay, but she returned the expression with an apologetic shrug as she sped up to catch Mine.

"Mi-chan!" the Uchiha girl gave waved happily, as she caught up she greeted the rest of the Nara clan with a small bow of her head, "Shi-kun, Shikamaru-sensei! I'm afraid I'm gonna have to steal Mi-chan, that way were together when we find Kiba-sensei. We'll see you when we get there!"

Turning to Mine she grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her along, "Nii-san and Ototo-chan will keep them company. Come on, Mi-chan."

The two of them ran off ahead, leaving Taro behind, the older boy bearing a rather annoyed look on his features. Mine cast a look over her shoulders, still feeling slightly bad about leaving her family behind, "See you two slow pokes at the meeting!"

When they arrived at the place the Hokage had asked them to gather, they soon found their sensei. To Kiba's left was a curvy young woman with a brown ponytail and pale eyes. There were fang marks upon her cheeks, making it quite clear whose daughter she was. She wore black pants that hugged closely to her figure. Her mesh shirt was covered for the most part by a Chuunin vest which had been personalized by the addition of a brown fur collar. Her forehead protector had been removed from the black band, and been attached across her back, just below the shoulders, to guard her one blind spot. On the other side of Kiba stood a woman with black hair which made her milky skin and pale eyes stand out all the more. Beneath her Chuunin vest she wore a simple black shirt, and on her legs were a pair of iridescent slacks, as she shifted her position they seemed to change in shade from blue to a lilac shade. To this woman's right was a young boy with the same dark hair and pale eyes, fang marks upon his cheeks identified him as another of the pair's children. He wore a long brown coat, fringed with fur at the collar, and left open from the waist down to reveal his blue pants, which flared slightly at the bottom.

Mine and Akina approached Kiba and his family. The Nara girl smiled brightly in excited anticipation, her teammate had her arms folded across her chest, serious as she waited to find out just what they were doing there. A faint blush crept across the cheeks of the young Inuzuka boy. 

Kiba's daughter waved at the girls, whom she had come to know well because of the fact that her father was their teacher.

"Hey, girls," Her pale eyes shut as she grinned at the pair, "Exciting, huh? Wonder what's up."

Behind the Inuzuka father and his children stood their canine companions. The familiar features of the massive white Akamaru panted a happy greeting, while at his side stood a jet black creature, whose characteristics were sharper, like those of a wolf, and piercing blue eyes. He grinned in his canid way as he watched the Genin approach. A slightly smaller female dog stood behind her human master, her sides thick with long red fur, with a black streak along her back. Her features, though not as sharp as the black animal's wolfish face, were more drawn out than those of Akamaru. Her black ears flopped to the sides of her head.

"Yeah!" Mine nodded her agreement, reaching out to scratch the large black dog behind its ears, "Maybe we get a mission!"

"It would be a nice change in pace…" The dark haired woman at Kiba's side replied softly. Though Hinata had come out of her shell quite a bit since her youth, she was still soft spoken. Her husband smiled at her brightly and slid his arm around her shoulders.

"You've got that right! I know my team is getting antsy just sitting around." Kiba grinned and let out a chuckle.

"It...it is a little…useless of us to just stay in the village…" The youngest of the Kiba and Hinata's children said softly.

"You sound like Yuudai. But I guess you do have a point, Ki-kun," Akina let out a laugh and shifted her attention to the older girl, "Speaking of missions, have any interesting ones lately, Ta-chan?"

Takara shrugged, "Not really. I had an escort mission last week. Some injured worker from a different village had come here to get help from your okaa-san. He wanted an escort home. It wasn't a big deal."

The dog standing behind the Inuzuka girl suddenly started in with a low growl, bearing his teeth. Takara turned with a concerned look and put a hand on his strong neck, "What's up Tatemaru?"

But the ebony furred creature didn't need to answer, however, as a red-headed boy soon appeared and threw an arm around the curvy girl, "Hey, Takara-chan! What's up?"

Speaking over the vicious barks of her animal comrade the pale eyed Chuunin lifted away the arm and stepped aside, creating an opening into which her dog immediately stepped, still snarling defensively. Adjusting her fur collar, which had been mussed by the boy's actions, Takara replied, "Nothing's up, Miki. Now, you should probably go find someone else to bother."

"Bother?" A look of hurt came into the other's eyes as he put a hand to his chest. It was clear this boy was a Chuunin as well; the collar of his vest left unzipped slightly and folded over. His bear, strong arms ended in hands covered by fingerless gloves. Black shorts, the metal plate with a leaf insignia stitched directly to the thigh, covered his legs, and the look was finished up with a pair of black sandals, "You think I'm a bother? I'm offended!"

"No," Takara batted her pale eyes coyly as she replied, "I don't _think_ you're a bother, I _know_ you're a bother. Where's your sister?"

Miki laughed, folding his arms over his chest, "Now why should I tell you where Ima is when you go and treat me like that? Maybe for a kiss I'd tell you…"

Takara quirked a brow, and Tatemaru continued to growl, "You do realize my father's standing right here, right?

Miki grinned, his own brow lifting in mock curiosity, "Oh, and if he weren't, then what were you thinking we could do?"

Kiba had remained silent thus far, knowing his daughter knew how to handle herself. However, he couldn't merely sit by and watch the boy continue speaking like that. As he stepped forward to put an end to the conversation, however, he found he had no need to say anything.

A hand swiftly landed a blow to the back of Miki's head, and the boy grasped as the forming bruise, "Hey!"

"Can it, pervert." The voice came from behind, another redhead, this one a girl with slightly darker locks stood. One hand was poised on her hip, the other still hung in the air behind the boy's stooped head. Her eyes were also green, though at the moment they were closed, and she also wore the familiar Chuunin vest, coupled with a short black skirt, and a long black sleeve down one arm which looped over her middle finger.

"Ima!" Takara's smile grew more sincere, and the large black canine at her side joyfully greeted the other Chuunin by dragging his large tongue across her cheek.

The red haired girl laughed as she pet the dog, kissing his nose softly, "Hey Tatemaru, hey Takara! Sorry my brother's been bugging you again…you'd think he'd learn."

Miki glared at his younger sister, "Well, I was actually making progress 'til you showed up!"

"No you weren't," Takara informed him, "You were probably about to get your ass kicked by Otou-san."

Kiba nodded as though to confirm this statement. In the background Mine and Akina exchanged amused glances. Akamaru tilted his head as he regarded the young shinobi before him, and Takemaru continued to watch the male Chuunin warily.

"So," Mine turned with a bright smile to the boy in the long coat, and he flushed mildly at the attention, "How have you been, Inuzuka-kun?"

"Y-you can call me Kiyoshi…you know…" His voice was soft, seeming to take after his mother, and his pale gaze avoided direct contact with Mine's teal eyes, "I've been busy…with training."

"Yeah, your dad keeps us pretty busy too." The kunoichi nodded in reply, "But when we get our mission, it will be worth it!"

"What makes you so sure we're getting a mission, ne?" Miki had been distracted from his pursuit of Takara upon hearing the statement.

"Well…why else do you think they would call us all together here?" Mine responded.

* * *

It was not too much longer before Shikamaru and his son arrived, along with Taro and Yasuo. The youngest Uchiha quickly seized the opportunity to escape his elder brother and find his teammates. Locating the rest of the newest Genin team wasn't hard, their sensei was Rock Lee, and he was more the image of Gai than ever. The enthusiastic Jounin still wore the same green spandex suit, though a little larger to accommodate his increased muscle mass. His forehead protector was bound by an ebony band around his waist.

At his side stood two girls, at first identical, though on closer inspection one could see that their eyes, each baring one pale eye and one brown, were the opposite of one another. The first of these girls, whose pale eye was to the left, wore a bright green shirt that emulated the Chinese style, It was fastened at her right shoulder by a button surrounded by golden embroidery. On her left arm was bound the classic Konoha forehead shield, and her legs were clad in brown shorts. Her sister wore an outfit quite similar in style, though the embroidery was on the other shoulder , the shirt was coloured red as opposed to green, and the forehead protector was on the opposite arm. Each girl bore a single bun, bound by an elastic band matching the colour of their shirts.

Yasuo hurried towards his team, a shy smile upon his features. He came to a stop aside the red clad girl, whose sister was busy smiling at the sensei, "Hi, Sumi-chan."

"Hi!" The non-distracted twin greeted him with a smile. Her mismatched eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Ah!" Lee noticed his final student had arrived, "It seems we are all together now! Isn't this exciting? It seems we may finally get a chance to display your youthful enthusiasm on a mission!"

"Yeah!" The green clad twin broke her silence, "I really hope so Lee-sensei!"

"Yosh!" Lee beamed with enthusiasm, "That is the spirit Kagami!"

* * *

In the meantime, Shikamaru and his son had approached Kiba's team, the lazy Jounin rubbing the back of his neck as he looked boredly around, "So troublesome…What on earth could Naruto want so early?"

Kiba laughed as his old friend spoke, "Lazy as ever, ne? How does your family put up with you?"

"It helps that Nii-san is even lazier," Mine chimed in, her earlier annoyance at her brother sloth-like behavior having been replaced with an amused air, "Okaa-san and I just tolerate it as best we can."

"Troublesome as she can be, Temari loves me," Shikamaru grinned as he gave his own reply, "So, that makes it worth putting up with each other."

The group was soon joined by two more Genin. The first was a young girl whose hair covered her eyes, clad in a long blue-grey coat with athletic wrap bound to her thighs showing just below the high collared coat's hemline. Her forehead protector was bound in its customary spot across the brow. At her side was a long haired boy, his brown gaze darted to the side as he took in Shikamaru and his daughter, eyes narrowing slightly as he saw Shikaji with them. This boy wore a dark violet shirt, a pair of brown capri length pants, and a loose fitting black belt with compartments for kunai and shuriken and other such tools of the trade.

"Shizu-chan, Utoi-kun." Kiyoshi gave them each a small bow of his head, failing to notice as the kunoichi he addressed went pink. Utoi, on the other hand, merely nodded his own greeting.

"Hey, you two!" Mine smiled brightly, and from behind the rest of the group one by one murmured their own greetings to the new arrivals.

Shizu gave a small smile at Mine's greeting. The shy kunoichi, who could in all honesty be easily mistaken for a male if you hadn't heard her speak, reached out a hand to gently stroke the red furred canine that had stepped forward to meet her. Shizu's voice was soft and sweet, like the song of a distant bird on an early spring morning, as she whispered to the oversized dog, "Hello, Ibakuko."

The group was then distracted by a voice behind them, garbled as something was interfering with the proper formation of the words, "Todja dey were here!"

"Ewww!" A second voice interrupted with a disgusted tone as the group turned to see who was approaching, "Chou, don't talk with your mouth full! How can you eat so much anyways? It's totally disgusting!"

The voices came from another pair of girls, one of quite a heavy build, and the other slender and clearly well groomed. The larger girl wore a loose fitting mesh tunic over a tighter black camisole; her legs were covered in a baggy pair of shorts that came to her knees. On her head was a tight cap of black fabric, a single bushy ponytail protruding from a hole in the back. Her plump face pink with the exertion of hurrying to the meeting place, made her green gaze look positively tiny in comparison, and her cheeks were adorned with the markings of her clan, unique to each individual, which in her case took the shape of purple suns with four rays each. In her hands she grasped a box of mini chocolate donuts

Her slender companion was clad in a dark blue halter, fastened at the back by a single strap formed by the forehead protector she had incorporated into the outfit, and trimmed at the front sides with gossamer blue fabric. Her skirt was of the same deep blue as her top, which also matched her eyes, and was nearly so small as to be of no actual use. Her feet were covered in high boots, her dark hair drawn into a long ponytail. Her blue gaze lit up with delight as she spotted the blond Nara in the crowd ahead, and she called out with an enthusiastic wave as she bolted forward, "Shika-kun!!"

Dark and bleary eyes took in the girl who was racing towards him, and he stumbled slightly backwards as she crashed into him, wrapping him in a tight embrace, "Hi, Inoko…"

"Hello, Shikaji-kun." Chou came to a stop a short distance away, her small green eyes focused briefly on Shikaji, who was still involuntarily being cuddled by the eager Inoko, before letting her gaze shift to her team leader, "Hello, Hinata-sensei. Any idea what Hokage-sama called us here for?"

Hinata's dark hair shivered over her shoulders as she shook her head, "No…but the general theory seems to be that Naruto-kun has a mission for us…"

"What?" Inoko released her grip on Shikaji as she stared in wide eyed horror at her sensei, "I can't go on an actual mission!"

"Inoko," the dark haired woman replied with a smile, "I'm sure we'll be fine on a mission if –"

"No!" Inoko moaned out in despair, her hand raised to the side of her face, "I won't be fine! I…I can't! That means going out…into the woods" There was another groan as she continue, "And there's dirt in the woods! And bugs!"

She paid no attention to the indignant look that passed over Shizu's faze at the mention of bugs. And why shouldn't the girl be offended when her family held insects in such high regard. Inuzuka Takara looked from Shizu, whom she regarded as almost a sister, to Inoko, who was still making a disgusted face at the concept of encountering bugs.

"You know, Inoko," the Chuunin remarked calmly, pausing only to slap away Miki's hand, which had tried to snake its way around her waist, "If you want to be a ninja, you'll have to get over it. Besides, bugs can be useful!"

"But we aren't allowed to go on missions!" Inoko's face grew a little brighter and more relaxed at the thought, "Right? Because it's dangerous and stuff!"

"We're 'bout t'find out," Chou replied through a mouthful of breakfast, gesturing to the front of the room where Naruto had appeared, his son at his side. The blonde man bent to talk to Yuudai, pointing to the crowd gathered, or more specifically to Kiba, as he did.

The green-haired youth made his way to his team, where he was immediately bombarded by other Genin asking if he knew why they had been called together. In reply the Hokage's child simply muttered, "Like he'd tell me."

The Rokudaime watched his son wander off into the crowd. When everyone had settled and become silent, staring with curiosity at their leader, Naruto broke into one of his trademark grins, "Alright, 'ttebayo! I bet your wondering why you're here, huh?"

Those who had grown up with the Hokage simply rolled their eyes and sighed in chorus. The Genin nodded eagerly, with the exception of Yuudai who merely crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the floor. The Chuunin were silently awaiting their orders.

"Well, I'd better tell you then!" The blond placed a hand on each of his narrow hips and continued grinning like a fool as he tried to build suspense, though he was actually getting on people's nerves. After what he thought was a nice dramatic pause he continued, "I've given it some thought, and I'm gonna send our Genin on a mission!"

A loud cheer came from most of the Genin, though some reacted with nervousness, and some seemed to think it was some kind of a prank. The Jounin in charge of the teams looked around, finding one another in the crowd with ease, seeming to ask with each glance whether any of the other's had been aware that this was really what was happening; each getting the same response, that though they had suspected, they hadn't really know. The Chuunin were all still wondering why they had been called.

"Each team's gonna go to a different village and deliver a scroll to the Kage, dattebayo, but things are dangerous now, so I want an extra man on each team, that's where the Chuunin come in!" Naruto then produced four scrolls, to in each hand, and held them up for the crowd to view, going into a more serious tone, "Keep the scrolls out of enemy hands, and make sure they get to the kage, then wait to bring a response or, hopefully, escort the kage back to the village."

Yuudai was now staring at his father through wide golden eyes, not believing what he had heard. He was actually being sent on a mission! In spite of himself a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips, not escaping the attention of his teammates; both of whom smiled at the fact that their comrade seemed to be happy for once.

At the front of the room Naruto continued to detail the mission, "Now, we have to sort out which Chuunin goes with which team! Let's see…Aiyoku Miki with team six: Yuudai, Mine and Akina, with Kiba as the leader; you're heading to Suna."

There was a happy gasp from Mine, for this meant she would be able to visit her uncles, a chance she got far less often than she would have liked. Miki's face fell as he cast a nervous glance at Kiba, who was smirking at the boy that so adamantly pursued his daughter. Yuudai had at this point broken into a full smile. Akina was beaming, caught up in the general excitement in the atmosphere.

Naruto continued, "Next up, Aiyoku Ima, you're going with team four, that's Hinata's team: Chou, Inoko and Shikaji. The five of you are heading out to Kumo."

Ima reacted with a bright smile, pleased to be assigned to the team lead by her best friend's mother. Inoko wrinkled her nose slightly as she tried to recall just how far Kumo was, and whether there would at least be good shopping once she got there. Chou happily continued eating her mini donuts. Shikaji let out a sigh that showed he wasn't looking forward to a trek. Hinata wore a small smile, though she felt quite nervous at the idea of testing the skills of her team on an actual mission.

It was time for the Hokage to announce the next squad, "Uchiha Taro's on team five, lead by Shikamaru; Shizu, Utoi and Kiyoshi are on that team. You guys get to head off to Iwa."

In all honesty there was little reaction from this team. Kiyoshi bore the happy smile that seemed to be gracing the faces of most Genin in the room, Utoi's face was set in a serious expression, Shizu's reaction was quite hard to read, as most of her face was hidden by her hair. From behind the curtain of soft brown bangs she was staring attentively at Naruto. Taro was silently wishing he hadn't gotten teamed with such a lazy Jounin, but was determined to make the best of it. Shikamaru was a little glum at the prospect of having to travel to the ninja village of the Earth Country, but understood well his duty to Kanoha.

The Rukodaime now announced the final group, "That leaves Inuzuka Takara with team 11: Lee, Sumi, Kagami and Yasuo. You need to head to Kiri."

"We will fulfill our duty with youthful efficiency!" Lee sparkled with a salute, causing Sumi and Yasuo to cast embarrassed glances to one another. Kagami on the other hand beamed up at her sensei, eyes gleaming with admiration.

"I'm sure you will…" Naruto replied with an amused roll of his eyes, "I wanna talk some more with the sensei, but the teams should go start getting ready for the mission."

The Genin and Chuunin filed towards the exit, excited murmurs rumbling through the crowd, blended as a chorus of whispers so thoroughly that no individual's statements could be deciphered. Once the younger ninja had vacated the area, the Jounin gathered about their leader, who had taken on a serious air, a look of concern shining in his sapphire eyes, "I know the Genin are excited about their first mission, but don't allow them to let that lower their guard. The attacks have been happening more often, and no one seems to know who's responsible, 'ttebayo. But we can't protect our Genin forever, they have to learn how to be true ninja, and that can't happen behind the village walls. Most of you have kids on one or more of the teams, but I know you well enough to know you agree with me…"

Hinata, once so timid around Naruto, gave a delicate nod, "Hai, Naruto-kun. But…to send them to the other kage…it seems a pretty big mission for Genin…perhaps the anbu-"

The Hokage shook his head, an understanding smile spreading over his features, "No. Any mission would be just as risky in this situation. And should the village get attacked while you're gone, we'll need the more experience ninja here…"

There was something in his voice, and odd tone hard to describe, that sent a shudder down Hinata's spine. It seemed to her as though he expected that the village would be attacked at some point in the near future. She knew her friend well enough to know that he wasn't telling the whole truth, and as she glanced at her fellow Jounin, she could tell they had the same thoughts.

"Whatever you're hiding from us," Kiba said in a voice that held a sharp edge, "We deserve to know. Like you said, they're our kids too. And it's our village."

Shikamaru regarded the leader of the village with his typical lazy gaze, though behind the weary eyes his mind was hard at work. Whatever was being hidden had a good deal more effect personally on Naruto than it would on any of them, he was sure of that.

"Yes, please tell us, Naruto!" Rock Lee chimed in, "While I may not be a parent, I _am_ a shinobi of Kanoha! How can I defend her properly without knowledge of what is happening!"

"You'll find out," Naruto assured them as he began to hand out the scrolls, seeing the uneasy looks that continued to pass among his friends, he added, "Just get the kage here as quickly as you can. After you've completed the mission, I promise I'll tell you everything. And you know my promises are always kept, dattebayo! Make sure the teams don't read the scrolls. I want them focused on the mission, not the message."

The Jounin looked the scrolls in their hands. It made sense for multiple reasons to avoid reading the contents. The most obvious of these was that if they didn't know what the scrolls contained, they could not, accidentally or under torture, betray the message; though ninja were trained to die rather than submit to torture anyhow. Still, the mission had been clearly given, and the four team leaders knew well that Naruto would keep his promise to them.

"Now go get yourselves ready," The Rokudaime's voice was light once more as a grin spread on his features, "You'll want to leave right away to make good time!"

In the meantime, Yuudai had followed his father's instructions and was in his room, a large khaki backpack open on his bed as he rummaged through his belongings. So far the bag contained a set of pajamas, his toothbrush, and hairbrush. At the moment he was searching for some clean clothes among the heaps of worn garments on the floor. From a pile of dark coloured fabric he pulled one of his usual black shirts, held it to his nose, and found it to smell at least fresher than the rest of the tops he had so far located. After tossing the crumpled shirt over his shoulder into the bag, the shinobi repeated the process until he had found a clean change for each article of clothing.

When he had finished with that task, Yuudai took up his bag and headed down the stairs for the kitchen, his next objective being to raid the cupboards for rations. The first compartment opened was found to contain numerous packages of instant ramen. The moss haired youth rolled his eyes at his father's obsession with the food before snatching up several servings and stuffing them into his bag. While he may not have been as big a fan of ramen as Naruto was, he had to admit it was a convenient item to have among your supplies.

Slamming the cupboard door shut, Yuudai turned and sealed his backpack, throwing it over one shoulder as he headed to the front door, eager to meet with his teammates and depart for the mission. Upon reaching the exit, however, he opened it only to find Naruto beaming on the other side. The blonde grinned at his adopted son, placing a hand upon the boy's shoulder, "Don't be in such a rush, 'ttebayo! Kiba's probably not even ready to go yet, so we have some time, and I want to talk to you."

"What?" The Genin shrugged his father's hand away, "You gonna tell me I don't get to go?"

With a sigh, Naruto shook his head, gesturing to the chairs in the kitchen to indicate that they should sit and talk awhile. The green-haired youth follow the Hokage, each taking a seat on an opposite side of the small table. When Naruto spoke again, his voice was soft and serious, carrying a note of concern, "Yuudai, listen to me for once. I know you think that you are treated unfairly, maybe you are...but acting the way you do doesn't help the situation!"

The boy he was addressing avoided his gaze, the youth's golden eyes staring instead at the floor from the corner of their view. A frown was pulling on the Genin's lips; his strong arms were folded over his chest in a display of his usual defensive disposition.

"I was never exactly a popular kid myself," At this bit of information, the moss-haired youth looked up at his father, who continued, "It's true. Everyone seemed to hate me, dattebayo! The difference is that eventually, when I graduated the academy and was put on a team with Sasuke and Sakura, I realized I had friends! Your team is only as good as the bond you share…and even though Sasuke and I fought a lot, we were still friend, and I never gave up on that friendship. You should give Akina and Mine a chance. You might be surprised to find out they're actually a lot more open to your friendship than you think! I know I never thought Sasuke would be as great a friend as he is!"

Yuudai stared at his father in silence for a moment before muttering a single syllable in reply, "Maybe…"

"And another thing! I don't know who gave you the stupid idea that we aren't a family," Naruto broke into a happier smile as he said this, "But we are! You're my son, and I love you, no matter what some idiot says! So be careful, 'kay? I don't want to end up losing you."

"Sure…" The Genin shifted a little uncomfortably at the sappy direction the conversation had taken before standing and once more heading for the front door, "I should get going."

"Not without these!" Naruto grinned as he held out a soft red cloth of velvet that was carefully wrapped around something.

Yuudai reached out, a brow quirked in curiosity as he accepted the parcel, carefully unwrapping the soft fabric that encased it. Within were half a dozen kunai which looked as if they were brand new, along with a large, gleaming shuriken. The young ninja looked at his father speechlessly a moment before turning and opening his pack again, slipping the gift inside. One more fastening the bag, he turned to face Naruto, "Thanks."

With that single, sincere word of gratitude, Yuudai departed.


	5. Episode 4: Goodbyes and Goodlucks!

**Author's Note:** We would like to apologize for the unedited quality of this episode. Our editor was affected by the recent hurricanes, and so was unable to return the proofread episode to the author. If you spot any mistakes, please post a comment letting us know, and the errors will be fixed at our earliest convenience. Please be a specific as possible as to the location of the error.

Thank you,

Soul Raider 116 and the rest of the Shimei staff.

* * *

Episode Four: Goodbyes and Good Lucks!

Dark eyes scanned the contents of a surprisingly organized closet, a mesh tank top along with a pair of navy blue shorts were snatched out of the space by the strong hands of the Chuunin who was quickly preparing to leave on his mission. Uchiha Taro was a highly serious ninja, not willing to fool around when it came to a mission, and this no nonsense attitude began the instant a mission was assigned. He travelled with only the necessities; there was no point in carrying more than he had too.

On his bed was a pack already half filled with supplies such a food, extra kunai and shuriken and first aid materials. Taro himself had no need of medical items (or so he believed) but it was important to be prepared anyhow in case others weren't. Turning from the closet he carefully folded the garments and placed them atop the other item materials in the bag. Satisfied that he had everything he would need, he fastened the strap that held the satchel shut, and bound his sleeping bag to the top of the pack. Slinging the straps across his shoulders, the Chuunin left his room, heading for the kitchen where he would meet his siblings.

Down the hall Akina was busy in her own room, her backpack open on the bed as she gathered her own supplies. Into the bag she placed a spare hip-pack of weapons, a spare dress and a small roll of bandages. Unlike her older brother, she also packed a few items that weren't strictly necessary, but which as a girl she felt the need to have. A tube of the sheer lip gloss she wore almost daily and her moisturizers were among these supplies. She was in the process of securing her sleeping bag to the satchel when she heard a commotion from the kitchen. Quickly she threw the pack over one shoulder and raced to see what was the matter.

When she got there she found her brothers, the elder holding something high in the air, a look of disgust upon his face as he stared at the younger. Yasuo was jumping up in vain as he tried to reach it. The smaller boy's green eyes were beginning to tear up, "Give it back! Please, Nii-san!"

"No way!" Taro's appalled expression shifted to the object in his grasp. It was a small teddy bear that he was holding aloft, just out of his sibling's reach, "You're a shinobi! What the hell are you doing with a sissy thing like this!?"

"But I can't sleep without it!" the younger boy protested.

At this point the noise had attracted the attention of the trio's parents as well. Sasuke and Sakura entered, the pink haired medical ninja baring a narrowed gaze as she made her way to a place between the two boys, "What on earth is going on!"

"Taro took Yasuo's teddy bear." Akina explained from the doorway where she still stood, an exasperated sigh accompanying the words.

"He was planning to take it with him!" Taro pointed out crossly, "He shouldn't be sleeping with stuffed animals at his age anyways, let alone taking them on missions!"

Though he had remained silent to this point, Sasuke spoke in a dull tone, "He has a point. You should only take what things you need on a mission."

The elder Uchiha son grinned wickedly at the fact that it seemed his father was planning to back him up. However the smile faded when he turned to see that Sasuke was not even looking his direction, but rather staring fixedly at the younger boy.

"And what good will he be to anyone if he can't sleep?" Sakura retorted, hands on her hips as she stared down her husband. Sasuke opened his mouth to respond, but saw that familiar fire in his wife's eyes, telling him that regardless of what he said, she would be the victor of the battle. The Uchiha patriarch silently closed his mouth, causing Sakura's expression to soften as she snatched the bear away from Taro. Bending down Yasuo's mother handed him the stuffed animal before kissing him softly on the forehead, "Here you go, sweetie. But don't let it distract you from the mission, even if it means you have to leave it behind. You know the lives of you and your teammates are more important than a bear."

"Of course, Okaa-san!" Yasuo smiled, hurriedly sticking the toy into his bag before anyone else could try to take it from him.

Taro was muttering under his breath about how ridiculous the notion of a boy, let alone a shinobi, carrying a stuffed animal was. Akina looked at him sadly; she pitied her brother for his narrow-mindedness, and wished that he would leave their younger sibling alone. The kunoichi tore her gaze from the Chuunin and went to the cupboards, proceeding to pack rations for the mission. Once she had done this, the three Uchiha youths made their way to the exit. Their parents accompanied them as far as the front lawn, where Sakura embraced her children one by one.

"Be careful." She whispered, tears in her eyes, "I want you all to come home to me, safe and sound!"

"Don't worry," Akina replied, though she herself was beginning to feel nervous about the mission. Her younger brother wore a slightly frightened expression, and looked to his older sister for reassurance, "We've been training hard, and you know our sensei well enough to know that we're in good hands!"

With that the children departed. Sakura watched them walking down the street, the faces that danced in her mind were those of the Uchiha children in their youth. She remembered clearly the day each had first begun at the academy, the excited smiles that had greeted her at the end of the day when they told of the lessons they had learned.

Sasuke placed an arm around his wife's shoulders, squeezing her gently to put her mind at ease, "We were going on missions at their age, remember?"

"Yes," Sakura nodded, leaning into his embrace, "And I also remember all the times we were nearly killed! It was hard enough worrying that something might happen to you and Naruto back then…"

"So we worry, that's natural…but we have to let them grow up." He kissed her forehead, and made his way back into the home.

* * *

In the Inuzuka house the goings on were much the same. With Kiba and Hinata beings sensei, however, there was little time to be distracted by worry for their children. The pale eyed matron of the family was folding an extra set of clothes for both she and her husband, who had gone to retrieve a first aid kit for each of their packs.

Kiba returned, tossing a box of medical supplies into each of the bags before flopping onto the bed with a frustrated sigh, "Gah! I wish Naruto wasn't being so secretive about what's going on! That idiot should just tell us! We'd probably be able to get the mission done better if he did!"

"Kiba…" Hinata placed their extra garments in the pack and sat by her husband's side, "If Naruto-kun thinks it's best we not know…there must be a good reason…he's not as stupid as you think…"

"Feh," It was risky for the couple to discuss Naruto, for though long ago Hinata had given up on ever receiving the kind of love she used to hope for from the blonde, Kiba still retained some jealousy for the fact that the Rokudaime had been his wife's first love, "You've always given him too much credit…"

"Kiba!" The former Hyuuga protested, her tone full of disappointment, "Y-you know that he's matured a lot since we were kids!"

"Yeah, yeah…" The male Jounin sighed, closing his eyes, "I'm sorry…but you were always so hung up on him, I hate when you talk like that!"

"But I married you…" Hinata replied, resting her head upon his chest, "I respect Naruto-kun…as a friend, and as the Hokage…but I love you."

"Heh," Kiba grinned as he sat up, the movement causing her to abandon her spot on his chest. Leaning in he kissed her softly, "Yeah, I know. Now, let's go see how the kids are doing."

The two rose from their spots on the bed, grabbed their sleeping bags and their packs, and headed off to find the children. Neither of the Inuzuka siblings was in their rooms, so their parents proceeded to the kitchen, where they found Takara and Kiyoshi raiding the food supply.

"You two all packed up except for food?" their father asked as he reached into the cupboard for some rations of his own, as well as a supply for Hinata.

"Yup" Takara replied with a nod, "We're all ready to go. Oh, hey Otou-san?"

"Yeah?" Kiba turned to face his daughter, who was now fastening her sleeping bag to her pack.

"What did Hokage-sama want to talk to the sensei about?" His daughter inquired.

"Just to tell us not to let you guys open the scrolls." The family was packed now and ready to go. They're goodbyes could wait until they reached the gates of Kanoha and had to depart with their teams.

* * *

His eyes concealed by dark glasses, a father watched from the doorway as his daughter packed to leave. In the bug-ninja's hands was clasped a small metal box. He would never admit to her that he was worried. She was his only child, and he would be devastated if anything should happen to her. To say such things, however, was not Aburame Shino's way. Rather, the Jounin stood so silently that his daughter nearly forgot he was there.

The girl, whose bangs fell into her face to cover her eyes, was packing the same necessities any ninja would, and doing so as silently as her father. To anyone else the silence would have seemed piercingly awkward, but to the Aburames, it spoke in volumes. Shino and his child were used to one another's silence. The man had always had something of a stoic nature, and his daughter was so very shy. So they had learned to communicate with no words.

As the Genin folded her extra clothes to put them in her satchel, Shino stepped through the doorway. He laid the box he carried into the pack, "First aid…just in case."

"Right." The girl peered at him from behind her bangs a moment before placing the garments on top of the medical supplies. Now finished with packing, she hoisted the bag onto her shoulders.

"Shizu," Her father spoke her name softly, and seriously, "You don't have much experience…be careful."

"I will, Otou-san," the Aburame youth flung her arms around the patriarch's neck, hugging him tightly before she hurried out of the room to meet with her teammates.

* * *

On the grounds of the Hyuuga compound the scene was again repeating itself as it had in every other house which contained a Genin. Kagami and Sumi, who shared a room with one another, were putting the finishing touches on their packing, each making sure that the other had everything they would need.

Sumi, the younger twin by mere moments, was shifting through the contents of her bag as she tried to recall everything she would need, and reminded her sister of what was needed as well, "You have a –"

"Change of clothes? Yup!" the elder twin replied, scanning the contents of her own bag with her Byakugan, "And I've got the –"

"Hairbrush, good," Sumi gave a nod of approval, "Okay, we know we've got enough –"

"Rations," Again her sister completed her thought, "Oh, do you have the –"

"Kunai Okaa-san got me for my birthday?" Sumi watched as Kagami nodded, then she replied, "Of course! No way could I forget those! I think that's everything then! I'm so nervous!"

"Not me!" The elder twin exclaimed with a grin, "This is gonna be great! I mean, it's a pretty straightforward mission, so it shouldn't be too hard, right?"

"But you heard what Hokage-sama said! Things are dangerous out there right now, aren't you even the least bit scared about what might happen?" Sumi sat on her bed, pulling a knee up as she hugged it to her chest.

"Nah! Hokage wouldn't send us if he didn't think we were ready! Besides," a distant, dreamy look came over Kagami's features as she spoke, "Lee-sensei will be there with us! Nothing bad can happen while he's there! He's absolutely amazing!"

The younger of the two rolled her eyes as her sister began to swoon over their sensei. It was common knowledge in the household (though their parents chose to live in denial) that Kagami had something of a crush on Lee, "Well, I'm glad you can be so confident. Ah! Okaa-san!"

Kagami's star filled eyed dimmed as she was snapped back to reality, her mismatched eyes darting to the doorway where her mother now stood. TenTen showed no sign as to whether she had over heard her older daughter's gushing comments about her old teammate.

TenTen made her way to the bed on which Sumi was sitting, and rested beside her. Her hair was now worn in a long braid rather than the two buns she had sported in her youth. She wrapped a comforting arm around her youngest child's shoulders, "You're worried, sweetheart?"

Sumi gave a short nod, her eyes locked onto her mother's tender gaze, "Yeah. I mean, what if I'm not ready? What if I do something stupid and let everyone down! What if the whole mission turns out to be a disaster! Okaa-san, I'm not sure I can do this!"

"You can. You've got a real talent for weapons, and so long as you and Kagami work together, you've got your father's Byakugan to help you out! Besides, I know Lee…and I trust him to take care of you," The woman tried to ignore the infatuated sigh from her older daughter, "I'm sure you'll be just fine."

"Thank you, Okaa-san." Sumi wrapped her arms around her mother's waist in a grateful embrace before turning her attention to her sister, "Come on, Kagami! Let's get going!"

Meanwhile, in another part of the house, Utoi was also packing his belongings. As he finished his father entered the room to talk to him, though their conversation would not be as heartfelt as that which had occurred amid the other half of the family.

Neji's pale eyes watched his son placing the last of his provisions. The Hyuuga patriarch, who had (thanks to Hinata's intervention) become the head of the family, stood in the doorway, his arms folded over his chest, and an ever serious look on his face, "You have everything you need?"

"If you doubt me, go ahead and look." Utoi's bitter response came as he fastened his bag.

"You remember what we've talked about? With no Byakugan, you –" He was cut off by another harsh reply from his son.

"I have to rely more heavily on my other senses. You've spent so much time trying to heighten them I couldn't possibly forget." He heaved the pack onto his back, and stood, waiting for his father move. When Neji made no effort to vacate the doorway, Utoi continued his bitter rant, "Besides, I have Kiyoshi's eyes, and his sense of smell. They don't need me to have any special Kekki Genkai, right?"

"Stop that!" Neji snapped, turning to leave, his sons words having struck a chord within him, reminding him of the bitterness he had felt towards his own cousin in their youth, "Pitying yourself over something that cannot be helped is no way to live your life!"

"Yes, Otou-san." The reply was hollow, and Utoi quickly left the room, meeting with his sisters as they set off for the gates of Kanoha.

* * *

The pounding of running feet echoed in the corridor outside of the room where Nara Shikaji sat on his bed. Soon, as he'd expected, his younger sister poked her head in, her eyes darting about as she searched for something, "Have you seen my hairbrush?"

"Why would I have?" Shikaji sighed as he tossed a handful of extra hair-ties into the bag that sat beside him, "I have my own; I don't need to borrow yours."

"Yeah, yeah. I just thought I might have left it in here," the younger Genin explained as she turned to leave.

"Why were you in my room?" Her older brother quirked a brow as he posed the question. There was no reason he could think of that she should have been.

"I had to wake you up so that you would get ready, remember, you lazy ass?" Mine responded, hands on her hips, "I can't believe you slept in on the day of a mission! And not just _a_ mission, but our first _real_ mission!"

"Well," Shikaji replied with a yawn as he lay back on his bed, "What good am I if I'm too tired to think, huh?"

"Oh, I swear!" The brunette grabbed up a pair of pants that had been laid out on the bed ready to be packed, balled them up, and threw them at her brother, "You are even lazier than Otou-san! How do you even _function_? You need to get packed!"

"I'm packing…" The blonde replied, gathering the pants off his head and dropping them into the bag before sitting up once more. He reached around the bag, picked up his extra shirt, and added it to the supplies, "See?"

"You're such a pain," Mine replied with an eye roll and a soft laugh, "I'd better go finish getting ready myself!"

As the pig-tailed girl turned and walked towards her own room, she had to pass by her parents' room. She could hear her mother talking in cheerful tones, but did not take the time to stop and listen, rather hurrying back to her packing.

Shikamaru was making sure he had extra kunai, clothing, and medical supplies packed. He'd already placed rations and other supplies in the bag.

"So, Mine get's to travel to Suna, huh?" Temari was sitting on the bed, a bright smile spread over her features, "I haven't been to Suna in, what's it been? Two years? And I haven't seen Gaara and Kankuro either! I wish I could go too."

The dark haired man looked at his spouse, smiling slightly himself, "We aren't going for a vacation…this is a serious mission."

"I know that!" the blond sighed, "But it would still be nice to see Gaara and Kankuro again! Besides…if I think of it as a mission…then I think of you and the children being in danger…"

"Hey," Shikamaru reassured her, a hand upon her shoulder, "Mine has that troublesome spunk of yours…and if I know Shikaji, he'll pull through in a fight, no matter how lazy he seems."

"Yeah well," Temari grinned at her husband, "You should know, he's just like you, after all!"

It was not too much longer before the Nara trio had finished preparing and was ready to set off. As they left their home for the village gates, Shikamaru paused to kiss his wife.

* * *

In the kitchen of the Akimichi clan, a rather large girl –though no taller in stature than any other- with red hair, and a purple sun upon each chubby cheek stood upon a chair. Her hands were groping blindly at the back of a cupboard as she searched for more rations to fill her already bulging bag with. She knew her father kept some bags of potato chips on this shelf somewhere! Finally her plump fingers closed upon something foil that crinkled in her grasp, "Aha! Found it!"

As she pulled her arm back, a bag of barbeque chips in hand, a voice sounded behind her, "Good, your packing lots of food. You're taking my chips, though…"

"Sorry, Otou-san!" The large girl hopped off of the chair, her ample bosom and extra curves jiggling with the motion, and went to hand the bag to her father.

"Take them, it's fine, Chou. I can get more. You need them to keep your energy up ," The man, even larger than his daughter, smiled softly, and added with a wink, "But don't let anyone know I let you get away with taking my food!"

A soft laugh came from the girl's lips as she smiled at the patriarch. Her green eyes, small in comparison to the rest of her, shifted from the bag in her hand to the piles of food in her pack. Chouji's face fell into a frown, he knew the doubts his daughter was having, "Chou…no matter what Inoko says…you know you're beautiful, right?"

"You have to say that," She replied softly, walking to her supplies and adding the chips to the stockpile, "You're my Otou-san. I don't think anyone else thinks so though…"

"It doesn't matter what they think," Her father wrapped into a soft but firm hug, "Anyone who can't see that you're the prettiest girl in the village needs their eyes checked."

"Stop that!" The girl protested with a laugh, "Anyway, I'm fine. The Akimichi…there's just more of us to love!"

Her word held more confidence than she felt, but she did not want her father to worry over her. She fastened the latch on her satchel and heaved it over her shoulders. Her bulk wasn't entirely fat, just mostly. A part of it, however, was made up of well trained muscle, and for a girl of her age she was quite strong. Leaning up to kiss Chouji on the cheek, the young Akimichi then made her way out the door and started toward the gates of Kanoha.

* * *

In the Yamanaka household events were occurring similarly, though not without a fair share of complaints being lodged, "Ugh! Why can't I just tend the flower shop or something?"

"You're a kunoichi of Kanoha! That's why!" An exasperated voice replied, the blonde who spoke was pulling together a supply of kunai and rations for her daughter to pack, "Besides, you're not all that good at flower arranging, and you refuse to get your hands dirty tending the plants! I don't know how you _expect_ life to work, but it's not like you can just sail through and do _nothing_ the whole time!"

"I plan to find a man who wants to spoil me," The Genin gazed dreamily into the distance through her bedroom window.

"That's not likely to happen…" It was the girl's father who spoke now, his dark eyes peering through the window as though searching for whatever it was his child was staring at,.

"_Otou-san!!_" Inoko whined in response, a look of horror on her face, "Who on earth could over look me! Besides… I've got Shikaji!"

"He's pretty lazy…I don't think he can give you what you're expecting." Sai mentioned thoughtfully.

"Sai…" Ino sighed, placing a hand on her forehead, "How many times do I have to ask you not to be so blunt with her? It's cute sometimes, but you just upset Inoko…"

The man blinked in confusion at his spouse, then smiled. Over time he had learned to be more tactful, but it seemed that once again his old habits had resurfaced. It wasn't considered polite to tell people exactly what you thought of them, even your own children, "Right…I'm sorry…"

"Ugh." Inoko flopped onto her bed, her brow creased in disgust at her father's antics. She'd heard stories…something about him being trained to have no emotions, and having trouble adjusting back to normal life. She wasn't entirely sure; hadn't exactly been paying attention.

With a sigh her mother took a seat beside her, smiling as gently as she could muster despite the frustration she was feeling, "You come from a ninja family, live in a ninja village, have ninja friends…it's just the way things go. I know you say you don't want to be a kunoichi right now, but your friends need you. And, right now, your Hokage needs you. You'll be fine."

"Oh, stop it with the mushy stuff! I'll go already! Like I really have a choice anyway…" With that the Genin rose and set about packing. As well as those items Ino had gathered for her, the girl also filled her bag with three extra outfits that duplicated the one she currently wore, makeup and hairspray. Once she had packed, she quickly kissed each of her parents on the cheek and hurried out of the door.

* * *

Footsteps echoed through the hall of the home belonging to the newest residents of Kanoha. Years earlier a family of skilled metal workers had moved to the village, and had learned to manufacture weapons as well as the farming equipment they already made. This family was known as the Aiyoku clan, and they quickly obtained a reputation as the best weapon makers in the region. It was from this family that many of the genin and their families had purchased their kunai, from this family that Naruto had purchased the gift he'd given to Yuudai.

It was also this family to which Miki and Ima belonged, the first in their clan to become shinobi. Of these two it was the elder, Miki, whose steps were heard as he made his way to his sister's room, "Oi, Ima-chan! Okaa-san told me to give you this."

The girl caught the bundle that was thrown her way, casting a stern look to her brother as she did, "Careful you idiot! These needles have poisons on them!"

"They're also all wrapped up. No way you're gonna stab yourself," The boy reasoned, "You almost ready to go?"

"Yeah, yeah. I just have to pack up these things," Ima raised the hand holding her precious needles to indicate it was those of which she spoke, "So, you nervous about being set up with Kiba-sensei's team? He looked about ready to kill you this morning."

"Uh…you noticed that to, huh?" Miki laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"What did you expect to happen hitting on Takara-chan while he was standing right there! You need to learn some tack, Miki-nii," the younger chuunin explained as she placed the needles into her bag and fastened it shut, binding a sleeping bag to the top, "Who knows, girls might actually like you then."

Their conversation ended, and their supplies packed, the pair headed off toward the gate of the village.


	6. Episode 5: Message to the Kage

Episode Five: Message to the Kage, the Mission Begins!

The sun was high over head for their mid-day departure. There was a general bustle in the area as siblings and friends said farewell, their voices mixing together in the hot, still air. Despite some efforts to make jokes the atmosphere was serious, the bright heat radiating around the gathering added to this. After their farewells the teams began to gather together, ready to head off for their adventures.

"Well, we might as well get started," Kiba climbed aboard Akamaru as he spoke, looking back at his team, a warning gaze lingering upon Miki. There was no way he wanted this pervert to have anything to do with his daughter.

The Aiyoku boy, twin katana strapped across his back, went pale under the glare he was receiving, and while the others talked happily among themselves, he fell silently to the rear of the group. In front of him walked Yuudai, and the girls traveled side by side in front of the green-haired youth. Kiba and Akamaru lead the pack, the dog's keen sense of smell scouting ahead for danger as they traveled southwest, bound for Suna.

The other groups fell into formations of their own, each setting off in a different direction, moving swiftly through the terrain that surrounded Kanoha. To the northwest traveled the team led by Shikamaru, their destination Iwa, the village hidden in the rock. Kumo, hidden in the clouds, lie to the northeast; and it was there that Hinata's team was departing for. Rock Lee's youthful team made hast due east, their mission leading them to Kiri, which was shrouded in mists.

---

"It's really pretty, even if there is a lot of sand!" Mine bubbled to her pink-banged friend, eyes glittering as she thought of the village she hadn't been to in years, "Kankuro-oji and Gaara-oji are so nice too! I can't wait to see them again!"

"They sound awesome, Mi-chan!" Her friend replied with equal enthusiasm, "I can't wait to meet them! Well…I think I've seen Kazekage-sama before…and maybe even Kankuro-san…but I haven't actually _met_ them, y'know?"

While the two of them discussed their destination, Miki had gathered his courage and made his way to the head of the group alongside Kiba, where he was trying to make small talk, "So…think we'll see any of those mystery shinobi?"

Kiba eyed him silently a moment, then, "Maybe…"

The chuunin shuddered under the beastly glare he was receiving, but tried again none the less, "Think these kids are ready? Maybe Hokage-sama should've sent out chuunin teams instead?"

"I'd already completed loads of dangerous missions when I was their age…I'd nearly been killed…" Came the reply, accompanied by a distant look.

"Oh…well, of course. But I'm sure you'd had easier missions first, right?" Miki continued his attempts, earning a hostile look from the man astride the dog.

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing…" the older man warned, his face bearing a smirk, "It's not about to work."

"Uhh…" With that the redhead slunk backward to where the genin continued to talk amongst themselves.

"I heard the Kazekage is really strong," Akina was saying, "Otou-san had to fight him in the chuunin exams when he was young, and it was really tough!"

"Yeah! The first person to actually beat him was Hokage-sama! Uchiha-san weakened him some, but Hokage-sama was still the one to actually beat him," Mine confirmed, "Uzumaki-kun should be very proud of his father!"

"I guess…" The boy's golden eyes fell to the ground as he spoke. Really, he'd heard the story from Naruto, and he had to admit it was kind of impressive. But the Rokudaime had a way of exaggerating things; Yuudai hadn't really thought it to be true.

"Oh, so you're related to the Kazekage, Mine-chan?" the Chuunin butted into the conversation, desperate to occupy himself with something other than the mental image of Kiba's death-glare.

"Mmhmm!" the girl nodded in response, "Okaa-san's his sister. She moved to Kanoha when she and Otou-san got married. But we still go back and visit, although we haven't since the attacks started…"

"Yeah," the elder ninja replied, "These attacks have nearly put an end to visits between villages. It's a shame too. It's killing my family's business."

"Your family makes weapons, right?" the Uchiha spoke now, "Otou-san speaks highly of their quality."

"Does he?" Miki grinned and let out a chuckle, "Well, the great Uchiha clan admiring our weaponry is almost as impressive as the Hokage himself coming in to buy some yesterday!"

Yuudai quirked a brow in mild interest at this statement, realizing it was the kunai he had been given that had been purchased there. Though he did not speak, he continued to listen with curiosity to the conversation going on in front of him. It seemed that business for the Aiyoku clan used to come from even the other hidden villages. Though trade within the walls of Kanoha was enough to keep them in business, it was not the same profit they had known in the past.

"That's a real shame" Mine sympathized, her arms folded across her chest, shaking her head slowly as she spoke, "I mean, even though the you're still profiting, so much profit has to be poured back into the business, right? To buy more steel and stuff."

"Yeah, but it's not like we're hurting for money. We have enough to put food on the table." Miki responded.

---

Shikamaru's dark eyes slid from one end of the horizon to the other, his ears remained alert for the sounds of approaching enemies. The Jounin had his hands shoved deep into his pockets as he strolled along, a sort of wearily intense look upon his features. Ahead of him, his students traveled close together, Kiyoshi and Utoi speaking in low voices as Shizu did little more than listen. To the front of the group strolled the eldest Uchiha, his Sharingan scanning the distance, trying to detect even the slightest motion along the treeline.

"Oi, Utoi-nii…" The Inuzuka youth addressed his cousin, who quirked a brow in response, "How'd Neji-oji take news about the mission? I mean, both my parents are sensei…so they had more than just Onee-san and I to worry about, but your parents –"

"Handled everything just fine," The blunt reply cut off Kiyoshi's statement. The other boy waited for the Hyuuga to expand upon his words, but nothing more was said. So the pale eyed genin took it upon himself to continue.

"I haven't seen Neji-oji or TenTen-oba since the last Hyuuga banquet. Ah! That's right!" He paused, tilting his head as he questioned his cousin, "You weren't there, were you? Were you ill that day?"

"No," Again a blunt and short reply pierced the conversation, "I didn't wish to attend."

"You don't like spending much time with the family, do you?" There was a sigh as Kiyoshi made his inquiry. Why Utoi seemed to hold so much against the Hyuuga clan, he never could figure out. He tried his best to make his cousin feel welcome among the clan, though there was no reason for the other boy to feel unwanted in the first place, "You know, you should go to those things…Neji-oji is the head of the family after all."

"No…he's a branch family member who was given leadership by the true head." Utoi corrected his relative, a harsh tone taking hold of his voice, "Hinata-sama is the true head."

"Well…maybe…but she only took charge long enough to abolish the branch family. So we are all one family now. And she told Neji-oji to take over leadership!" Kiyoshi argued his point passionately, wishing Utoi wouldn't be so grudging towards Hinata.

"U-utoi-kun," Shizu broke silence she'd been keeping, "K-kiyoshi-kun is right."

Eyes, pale and chocolate hued alike, fell upon the quiet girl. It was a rare thing for her to speak out so decisively, though she did hate to see her friends fighting. Kiyoshi gave the girl a smile, "Thanks, Shizu-chan."

"Hnn," Was the only reply that came from the long haired youth. He closed his eyes and looked away.

Feeling she may have made matters worse, Shizu returned to silence. Behind the curtain of her bangs, she looked to Kiyoshi as she reached out to her side, where the large dog Ibakaku panted happily at the contact.

Kiyoshi smiled kindly at his teammate, who blushed softly and looked away, as he spoke, "So, what about you? Did Aburame-san take the news of the mission well?"

"Mmhmm…" she nodded slightly, her bangs shifting against her face but never once revealing her eyes, "He just wants me to be safe."

"My parents are the same way," Came the reply. Pale eyes looked distant as the Inuzuka boy smiled at the memory of his last moments with his parents before departure., "I bet all parents are."

"Hmph." The pair turned their attention to Utoi, but the Hyuuga boy said nothing more. Kiyoshi shook his head and sighed at his cousin. Shizu merely looked away in silence, her gaze landing on the ground as her hands wrung nervously in front of her. She hoped she hadn't started another fight between the two.

"Don't worry so much," Kiyoshi consoled his female teammate, his own hand scratching his canine companion behind her ear. Smiling kindly he joked, "Utoi-nii is always like that. He just can't seem to be happy."

"Yes, Kiyoshi-kun…" A soft voice replied. Shizu walked now in silence, her hands folding delicately as she looked up to the clouds gently drifting overhead.

---

Ever confident, Rock Lee lead his team as they bounded among the treetops on their way to Kiri, "We will complete this mission to the best of our ability! Youth is on our side! Yosh!"

"Right, Lee-sensei!" Kagami panted, the only one of the team able to keep up, "Nothing can stand in our way!"

Behind the duo the rest of the team followed, knowing full well they would never be able to keep up such a pace. Sumi called out to her sister's idol, "Lee-sensei! Don't you think we should move down to the path? It would be easier, and we wouldn't have to waste energy!"

"She's right you know," Takara called, her pale eyes surrounded by the veins that indicated her Byakugan had been activated, "Naruto-sama warned us to be careful for a reason. With all the rogue ninja around, we could be ambushed!"

The Inuzuka girl sat astride her large canine counterpart, bringing up the rear as she scanned the area, her keen eye eager to pick out any threats. Ahead of her Lee halted suddenly, turning to look over his shoulder at her. His bright black eyes still sparkling with enthusiasm.

"Sumi, Kagami, Yasuo," He called out to his team, each of whom looked at him expectantly, "What do you think we should do?"

"Ah! You really want our opinion, Lee-sensei!?" Kagami squealed, flushing brightly, "Really?"

"Of course! What good is a team if the leader automatically makes all the choices!" The green-clad jounin replied, his smile sparkling in the fading light, "So, is it the path or the treetops?"

Three voices rang out at once in reply.

"Path!"

"Path!"

"Treetops!"

Sumi nudged her twin in the side, a stern look on her face, "Kagami! What did you say treetops for? Didn't you hear what Takara-san said? It's better to conserve our energy! Besides, I'm getting tired!"

"But Lee-sensei has us traveling through the treetops for a reason, I'm sure of it!" The other replied, defending her sensei, "We really ought to go with whatever he wants! He's got experience!"

"Well, looks like it's three to two, Kagami!" Lee replied, interrupting their argument, "I was only traveling on the tree tops to help build balance and stamina anyhow, and we can work on that while we're in Kiri! Besides, it's almost time to make camp."

"Yosh!" Kagami agreed with a sharp nod, eager to do whatever her sensei recommended "If Lee-sensei says it is time to make camp, then that is best!"

The other three in the group sighed. They were glad at least for the chance to make camp and take a rest. Tomorrow they would hopefully be traveling along the path.

---

Hinata made her way down the path she and her team were told to take. Pale hues glanced back over her shoulder to the ninja she lead, the group talking among themselves. They seemed so young to her. It may have just been that she was getting too old for this job. She had considered retiring and simply being a mother to her children, afterall, her own sensei had been much younger, and the parents of she and her peers had been retired, for the most part. She sighed softly, no, the children were simply young. Fourteen, it seemed such a long time ago, but when she was their age she too had been asked to risk her life on dangerous missions. Back when she had still had a crush on Naruto.

Behind her the genin and their newly assigned chuunin were talking amongst themselves, excited by the mission, though it seemed to Hinata that some of them did not fully grasp the seriousness of the situation.

"Shika-kuuuun!" Inoko squealed as she clung to his arm, her long brown ponytail swinging out behind her, "You _will_ protect me if anyone attacks, right? I mean, you're the big strong man!"

Shikaji rolled his eyes at this as he glanced at their intertwined arms. He was used to her clinging, and had long since stopped trying to escape, though he did find it rather troublesome. Looking at the female he gave a blunt reply, "By now you should be able to defend yourself."

"But Shika-kun!" The girl protested, clinging all the tighter, "You'll protect me because you care about me, right? You wouldn't want anything to happen to me!"

There was silence on the boy's end of things, earning a disappointed pout from the Yamanaka youth. Hinata looked to the ground, remembering well her own days of crushing, and her feeble attempts to gain the recognition of the current Hokage, then nothing more than another genin. Snapping out of her thoughts she spoke, "A-alright. Time to set up camp."

"Chou-chan?" The voice that spoke belonged to the chuunin who had joined the team for their mission. She dropped her satchel to the ground as she came up to the heavy set girl's side, "You seem awfully quiet tonight…"

"Oh, she's always like that." Inoko waved a hand dismissively, gladly droppin her own pack, "Kami's sake, that's heavy. Anyway, Chou-chan doesn't talk much…too busy eating I suppose."

Chou went pink at the accusation, but the first thing she did was pull a package of chocolate chip cookies from her pack and start to eat, "Dat's no' twoo!" She swallowed, "I'm just not used to people caring what I have to say…"

As the Akimichi youth resumed eating her cookies, Inoko rolled her sky hued eyes, "Maybe if you took a bit more pride in your appearance, then you wouldn't be overlooked as often."

"Wha's tha' upposed ta mean?" the chubby girl questioned through a mouthful of cookies, the crumbs sticking to the corner of her mouth. Inoko looked at her in disgust.

"First of all," The much more slender girl replied, "Wipe those crumbs from your mouth. Second off, look at yourself! You're wearing clothes that don't even fit, you weight like five-hundred pounds and _still_ stuff your face all the time. You never wear any makeup….need I go on?"

This time it was not Chou herself that answered, but rather the chuunin at her side, "Lay off, Inoko-chan. You know her clan needs to eat all the time to keep up their chakra! Besides, looks aren't all that important."

The Yamanaka female narrowed her gaze at the older girl, "Oh, really, Ima-chan? And just who are you trying to impress with the makeup _you_ are wearing?"

Aiyoku Ima blushed faintly at the comment, for she did indeed have the faintest traces of lip gloss and eye shadow adorning her features.

"Could we maybe stop fighting," Came the soft voice of their sensei, "And start setting up camp…"

The team looked over at Hinata, and saw that she was surrounded by tent building materials, poles and spikes and fabric. Ima immediately rushed over to help, followed by Chou. At a slow pace Shikaji made his way towards his sensei, yawning as he went. Inoko let out a grudging sigh and sauntered over as well. Between the five of them the camp was soon ready.

"You mean we have to sleep on the ground?" Inoko asked in disgust as she went to unroll her sleeping bag, "There isn't even a floor to this tent!"


	7. Episode 6: So Far, So Good

Episode Six: So Far, So Good!

The same afternoon, after watching their children depart and bidding them farewell, three friends gathered together. The Hokage looked at the ground, wondering if he had done the right thing, second guessing himself already. His oldest friends were by his side, Sakura and Sasuke watched in silence a while as Naruto contemplated his decision to put the children in danger, to send them up against an unknown foe.

"They'll be alright." Sakura assured him, though as a mother it was natural for her to be worried as well. "They've been training for this."

True, every one of the genin sent on the missions had been training for years, with the exception of Rock Lee's team. They were just graduated from the academy. The pink haired Kunoichi had her own doubts about whether sending this team had been wise. They'd had no time to take on simple missions beforehand.

Sensing his wife's worry, Sasuke spoke, to reassure both she, and the Rokudaime, "Remember our first real mission? And I don't mean finding lost kittens; I mean our journey to Kiri, when we had to escort the bridge builder. We were no older than Yasuo is now."

He was right. Of course, the Uchiha himself had nearly lost his life, and his teammates had to struggle to succeed. This occurred to his former teammates, but they let it slide, after all, the three had come through so much themselves: the Akatsuki, Orochimaru, other ninja battles; and regular life as well: love, loss, marriage and children. And they had come out well in the end. Granted, everyone in the village had suffered severely during those days, losing family members and mentors, and very nearly one another. A sullen silence fell over the trio as these memories were stirred within, the simple words of comfort instead summoning bittersweet recollections. Sakura hugged her husband about the waist, trying to satisfy herself once more that he had really returned and the past several years since his return had not been some wonderful dream. She smiled softly as she could feel him still.

"Well…they have our friends with them. Lee, Kiba and the others will take good care of the kids." Naruto piped up after a while, his usual smile once more crossing his features, "But there's something I've been wondering about…"

"What is it?" Sakura canted her head to the side, green eyes taking in her friend with a questioning look.

"Well," The hokage gazed back towards the gate where the children had disappeared, "Remember I told you I think those strange ninja attacking shinobi from all the villages have something to do with Yuudai? I just want to know why…why are they after him? What's so important about that stranger that traveled to Kiri all those years ago, his father? There must be some reason they attacked twelve years ago, some reason they're after Yuudai now, 'ttebayo."

"You're sure it was Yuudai's father they were after?" The pink haired med-nin asked.

"It must have been," The village leader insisted, "Why else would they be after Yuudai now?"

"But are you sure it's him they're after at all?" She asked, desperate to believe her friend was wrong. Yuudai was so important to Naruto, after all. She didn't want to think that he had unwittingly found some foe.

"They attacked Kiri twelve years ago…and now they're back on the prowl, looking for something." The genius Uchiha reasoned, "It makes sense that it must be Yuudai they're after."

Naruto gave a grim nod, turning to walk toward the Hokage tower, "Sasuke, go get Tsunade-baasan, dattebayo. I think it's time to find out a little more about these mystery ninja."

"Hai." His friend gave a nod, and took off at a run, as eager to find out what the hell was going on as Naruto was.

Sakura watched as her husband disappeared down the dust road, and then hurried to catch up to Naruto, "You think Tsunade-sama knows what's going on? Wouldn't she have said something by now?"

"I haven't told her about the connection…about the fact that Yuudai's birth father matched the description of the attackers…or about…" He left the sentence hang. There was one other thing he had failed to mention. He gestured for the pink hair kunoichi to follow him, "Come on. I want you and Sasuke there too."

"Alright." Sakura gave a nod, and she and the rokudaime took off for the Hokage tower.

Once they were there, Naruto began rummaging through the drawers of his desk, searching for something. Finally, satisfied that he had located it, he pulled out what appeared to be a forehead protector, and began staring at the metal plate on the front. The med-nin watched him curiously for a few moments before the godaime arrived, Sasuke leading her into the office.

"What do you want?" The blond woman muttered, folding her arms over her chest, "I was in the middle of something!"

"Tsunade-baasan!" Naruto grinned at her, "This is more important than gambling, trust me! I need some information, and I thought as one of the original Sannin, and being so old, you might have the answers I want!"

Naruto's predecessor, who only now had begun to look as though she were in her forties or fifties, despite being older than that, crossed her arms tighter, causing her ample bosom to heave upwards. The other ninja, who were used to her exposed cleavage, didn't even notice. Her eyes narrowed, "I'm going back to my game!"

"Wait!" Sakura called out, shooting Naruto a look that scolded him for offended the godaime, "We really need your help, Tsunade-sama. It's about the attacks that have been happening..."

"The attacks?" A blond brow lofted, and she turned to face the trio once more, "What about them? You have some lead on who's behind them?"

"Maybe…" Naruto sighed, "They all fit a certain description…golden eyes, and hair that ranges from silver to dark blue and the various shades of blue in between."

"I've hear the descriptions!" Tsunade rolled her eyes, "That doesn't tell me anything!"

"Yuudai's father…his birth father…fit the same description!" Naruto continued, desperate to keep the woman there, to hear her input, "And, when I found Yuudai, I found this."

Here he tossed the headband onto the desk, revealing it to the others. It bore a symbol that fit none of the villages of the ninja, even the smaller villages…a fish. The former hokage crossed the room, lifting the forehead protector by the steel plate. "You found this with Yuudai?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, does it mean something?"

"This symbol…I've seen it before." With that she gestured that they should follow her. The woman hurried to the library, current Hokage and his friends running after her. She led them straight to the fantasy section. A section most often visited by the youth of the village, "When I was young, I read a book."

As she spoke she searched the shelves, eventually pulling a musty old volume with a blue cover, on which was inscribed the same symbol as the headband. Tsunade flipped through the pages as she spoke, "Here we go. It is an old legend from the Water Country.

"Once there was a land called Uminoukoku, no one knows for certain where it was located. Its leader was a peaceful man, who grew tired of the wars that ninja fought. He sank his kingdom to the depths of the ocean." Flipping shut the book she shook her head, "You drug me away from an important card game for a myth! It's just a children's fairy tale…the headband was probably a prop for telling the story."

"Uminoukoku, huh?" Naruto gave a sage nod, "Thanks, Tsunade-baasan! That's a real help, you can go back to losing your money now!"

"What makes you so sure I was losing you brat!" She cried out, "I was on a roll!"

With that, she stormed out of the library, leaving the book lying on a table. The rokudaime swept up the tome. He would keep it with him, for now. He thumbed through the pages, skimming the contents. Naruto had never been big on reading, and gave a low groan over the sheer thickness of the volume, "Great. That's a lot of reading to do."

The next day, the teams set out to continue their journeys. Most of the genin groups would get through without incident. One group, however, had fallen into the focus of golden hues. The enemy would not attack, not just yet. They would wait, and watch.

They would watch closely as a certain moss haired ninja lagged behind his team, falling further and further out of step with the others. The rest of the team gabbed happily, unaware. That is, except for the heightened senses of their sensei. He didn't want to alarm his team, but his nose picked up the scent of strangers, cleverly masked, yes, but still present. The dog upon which he rode whimpered softly and Kiba shushed him.

"Miki," The dog ninja called, causing the orange haired youth to flinch, but quickly trot up to his side from where he had been conversing with the girls.

"Yes, Kiba-sensei?" He could suddenly sense the tension in the air as the man gave him a silencing look, warning him with his eyes not to say a word about the disturbance. Behind them, the kunoichi slowed their walk, watching the silent exchange curiously. They were inexperienced, naïve. It was beyond their capabilities to detect the presence.

Kiba's nose twitched, how he wished he had his wife with him to loan him her byakugan! He could smell the threat, but could not see it! In a hushed tone he began to speak, "Don't look around, but we're being watched…act natural."

Miki didn't even dare to show any acknowledgement that he had heard the man's orders. They had to alert the kids somehow, without letting the enemy know they were onto them. Now the chuunin could feel the eyes upon him; the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. He fought the urge to reach back to his katana and continued to walk, keeping pace with the man on the dog.

After a few moments, even the girl's began to sense something suspicious was going on. They looked around, but saw nothing. This gesture unwittingly told whomever was watching that they had been detected. The only one who didn't seem to notice was Yuudai.

A rustle in the trees! Four sets of eyes turned, and now they were ready to grab their weapons. Yuudai stopped when he noticed the others seemed to have frozen on the spot, hands hovering over the tools of their profession. His golden hues drifted to the spot that held the focus of the others. Suddenly Akamaru let out a yelp as a kunai flew from the trees behind them, plunging deep into his flank and causing the canine to collapse, sending his partner sprawling to the ground, letting out a curse as he fell.

Akina whirled to face the trees the blade had come from, drawing a pair of kunai of her own, letting them fly into the bushes. The dull thud of metal sinking into wood could be heard as the kunai struck a tree and the Uchiha called out, "Show yourself!"

"How brave," Came a taunting tone from the tree line, "A little girl who wishes to fight? I'm trembling with fear!"

From the forest materialized a form. Hair of silver blue framed a gaunt face, long and narrow. From beneath thin brows peered a pair of golden hues, the same shade as Yuudai's. The figure grinned menacingly, eyes set upon the Uchiha first, and then the green haired youth, "Well, well, well…what have we here?"

Yuudai quirked a brow, not understanding what the foreign ninja was talking about. He looked for the metal plate that would tell him what village this man was from, but when he located the forehead protector, the symbol was a mysterious mash of lines that seemed to form a fish. As the shinobi from Konoha readied themselves for a fight, more of these strange ninja seemed to appear from the surrounding forest, a total of three, all nearly identical.

"Look at who seems to have stumbled across our path, brothers." The first ninja spoke once more, smirking in the male genin's direction, "Interesting eyes, don't you think?"

"Indeed…" One of the foreign shinobi replied, a malicious smile upon his features as he drew his own kunai, readying himself to attack.

"Not so hastily!" The third brother chimed in, "He has friends…we can't underestimate them…"

Now Yuudai reached for his kunai, only to find them hidden in his pack, still wrapped in the velvet cloth the hokage had presented them in. His eyes narrowed, his ever present frown replaced with a concerned expression, "What the hell do you want?"

"Simple." The second brother replied, testing the edge of his blade upon his thumb, "Your head."

Kiba gave a snarl as he looked up from where he had been tending to the wounded Akamaru. The large dog whimpered and licked at his wound as Kiba locked his feral gaze upon the enemy. Rising to his feet and drawing a kunai of his own, he snapped, "You'll have to go through me first!"

With Akamaru injured, he would be at a disadvantage in this fight, but Akina and Mine also produced blades with which to do combat, and Miki pulled his Katana from its sheath. They would all fight for Yuudai. The moss haired genin blinked in surprise at their willingness to fight for his life, but soon shrugged it off as them doing their duty rather than any personal concern.

The three mysterious shinobi narrowed their eyes. A breeze rippled through the area. Tension was high as they waited for the first move to be made. Then the leader of the brothers gave the command, "Go!"

Suddenly there was a flurry of activity; blades flew as the strangers struck! Akina's eyes shifted to their signature red as her sharingan was activated, and she saw the six kunai coursing through the air. A blade flew to each of the five party members, with two slicing toward the green haired genin. Then the blue clad girl with Uchiha symbols adorning her hips noticed that her team mate had no kunai. All of this happened in mere moments thanks to her kekki genkai, and she dove for Yuudai. A kunai skimmed her shoulder, slicing a shallow line through her skin.

As the pair hit the ground, allowing the other blade to whiz overhead, she winced from the pain in her shoulder. Her crimson hues narrowed at her team mate, "Where the hell are your kunai? You know what, never mind! Take a couple of mine!"

She shoved the blunt end of her blades into the moss haired teen's grasp, arming him with two of the weapons, and then felt the bite of another blade sinking into her side as the attacks continued. She struggled to her feet, and as she did, Yuudai wormed his way out from beneath her, quickly trying to assess the situation. Kiba was trying to fight off a barrage of water attacks, but seemed to be having a hard time with them, Mine had her twin fans out, and was using them to blow away the kunai that tried to pierce her, and Miki was slicing the air, knocking aside the smaller blades of his opponent. Meanwhile Akina stood behind him, blood seeping from her side, staining her dress.

The Hokage's son gripped his kunai tightly. He charged, targeting the shinobi who had initially attacked him. With a yell, he ran forward. A smirk spread across the stranger's lips as he readied himself for the attack. But rather than stabbing with the kunai, Yuudai dropped, sweeping a kick at the other's legs. The mysterious leader of the ninja that had attacked them jumped to avoid it, but while he was in the air and off balance, Mine threw one of her kunai, slicing his ribs and leaving a deep gash. The enemy let out a shout of pain, and again Mine struck, waving both of her fans, and sending a whirlwind to knock the stranger from his feet.

"Hey!" Yuudai let out a shout of his own as the enemy leader was blown hard against a tree, "This one is mine! Back off, Nara!"

The lavender clad girl sighed, but was soon distracted by another of the fiends coming after her. Her fans crisscrossed as she stirred another whirlwind, smirking and shouting at the opponent, "Oh no you don't!"

The wind swept away his weapons, but he dug in his heels to keep from being bowled over as his brother had been, "Little bitch!"

Kiba was now free of the watery attacks he had been facing, drenched and panting softly as he watched Miki, who had come to his aid. The swordsman had the foe on edge, slicing through his liquid weapons at close range as he closed in. With a violent slash the chuunin cut through the enemy's arm. The silver-blue haired ninja let out a howl of pain as his severed limb fell to the ground.

Yuudai was currently in the grips of his opponent, but a quick kunai flew onto the scene, sinking itself into the stranger's eye. The mysterious shinobi let out a loud wail and collapsed to the ground.

"Don't kill them all!" Kiba shouted as he dropped his hand, having been the source of the kunai who had taken down Yuudai's foe, "We can capture one and take him to the Kazekage! Let the kage's decide what to do with them!"

The enemy that fought with Mine was finding it hard to advance, as she kept blowing him back with gusts from her twin fans. Finally she succeeded in sending him sliding back into a tree, where Akina pinned him with a snarl, kunai to his throat. Kiba made his way forward, addressing the stranger, "Alright, so, who sent you?"

Miki was racing after the opponent he had wounded, and disappeared amid the trees. Yuudai kicked at the body before him, nudging it with his sandaled foot, muttering with disapproval, "He's dead."

Kiba kept his fierce gaze focused on the enemy Akina had pinned, repeating, "Who sent you? What do you want with Yuudai?"

Akina pressed her blade closer to the shinobi's throat, trying to coax an answer from him. But the captured ninja just smirked pulling a capsule from his pocket, and stuffing it into his own mouth. Kiba went wide eyed, "It's poison! Stop him before he -"

But it was too late, the enemy shinobi had already swallowed, and soon collapsed upon the ground, dead as a doornail. Soon Miki emerged from the trees, a frown upon his features as he used a cloth to wipe the crimson from his blade. Turning to Kiba, he spoke, "On got away. I tried to catch him, but he seemed to just vanish."

It had been a short battle, and the shinobi they had faced did not seem to greatly skilled, aside from the one that had escaped. The team took a few moments to catch their breath before settling in to tend their wounds. Miki and Yuudai had come out unscathed, Kiba had inhaled some water, but aside from that, was fine. Akamaru had a deep gauge in his flank, and Akina had a slice on her shoulder, and a gash in her side. Mine tended to her, hidden from the view of the boys by some bushes as Akina stripped away the dress she wore to allow the other kunoichi to bind the wounds. Mine seemed to be uninjured, having used her wind attacks to ward off the enemies' strikes. So they had suffered surprisingly few injuries.

Kiba snarled as he cleaned the wound in Akamaru's side, "Damn…those weren't even their best shinobi." He sighed shaking his head, "None of them should have gotten away."

Here he cast a glance at Miki, who was clearly just as disappointed in himself as he re-sheathed his katana, "Yeah, well…he seemed to vanish! Maybe you should take a look, aren't you supposed to be some great tracker?"

"I'll do that." The dog-nin replied, rising from his kneeling position near his canine. He wandered off into the trees, "Keep a sharp lookout, he may return."

When Akina and Mine emerged from behind the bushes, Yuudai stared at the Uchiha with lofted brow. She quirked a brow right back at him, her gaze having returned to its usual dark shade, "What?"

"Why the hell did you tackle me?" He asked, brushing some clinging dirt from his outfit. The tone of the question was indignant, and his golden hues broke away to scan his garment for further filth, finding traces of blood that had dripped onto him from Akina's wounds. He felt a pang of guilt, but would not admit it.

"Duh, so you wouldn't get killed." She replied, rolling her onyx optics, "What kind of idiot doesn't carry any kunai?"

Yuudai huffed, "I have kunai! They're just in my bag!"

The Uchiha laughed, "Well, that's a great place for them to be! You really are an idiot, aren't you, Yuu-kun?"

"Shut up, Uchiha." Came the response, though with less bitterness than usual. It seemed he realized he had done something stupid.

Kiba soon returned, shaking his head in disappointment, "The trail went cold at a river. I say we pause for lunch, then press on for Suna. The sooner we get there, the less likely we are to be attacked again."


	8. Announcement

I will be revamping this story. If you enjoy reading it, please get alerts for "Naruto: Shimei -version 2.0-"

It will be essentially the same story, but with updated team leaders and thus new team dynamics.

* * *

The new team leaders will be the children of the Naruto team leaders from the actual story. So, for the purpose of these characters, the following pairings will now be included:

~Kakashi/Ayame (aka the ramen stand girl)

~Iruka/Shizune

~Gai/Anko

~Asuma/Kurenai (of course)

* * *

Timelines may also be adjusted to make certain the ages work out with the actual storyline.

Also, I will be looking for a beta reader. If you are interested in the position, please PM me!


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